Don't look now but Lonmin shares are pulling a "summer of 2012", following news from the South African police that two people have been shot at a Lonmin mine, one of whom has died. Expect the now usual kneejerk fireworks to hit the price of platinum as the supply of the precious/industrial metal is once more put in jeopardy. Also, look for more weakness in the ZAR, as the South African economy, already weakened by last year's interminable "wage negotiations", will hardly be able to weather a second year of constant worker strikes following a year in which all of the purported negotiated pay hikes have shown to be transitory.
From Reuters [3]:
A worker was shot dead on Monday at a Lonmin mine in South Africa, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said, in the latest unrest to hit the troubled platinum belt.
The shooting happened near the town of Marikana, 120 km (70 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, where police shot dead 34 miners in a single incident in August last year, the deadliest police action since the end of apartheid.
"One of our members was attacked with a gun in our office at Lonmin's Western Platinum mine," NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said, adding the worker later died.
Police confirmed a shooting at Marikana but said they were still gathering details.
The rand retreated slightly against the dollar after the shooting amid fears of another cycle of violence in South Africa's mining sector.
More than 50 people died last year in wildcat strikes and violence relating to a bloody turf war between the NUM and the rival Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).
Seshoka could not confirm who was responsible for the attack. In the past both unions have accused each other of attacking and killing their members.