LONDON--Xstrata Alloys, a division of Anglo Swiss miner Xstrata
PLC (XTA.LN) said Tuesday that production at its Kroondal chrome
mine has returned to normal after it sent workers home Friday due
to protests at neighboring mines owned by Lonmin PLC (LMI.LN) and
Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AGPPY, AMS.JO).
Xstrata Alloys spokesman Christopher Tsatsawane told Dow Jones
Newswires that workers were evacuated on Friday for safety reasons
after having been intimidated by Lonmin employees demanding higher
wages at the neighboring Marikana mine.
About 10% of the workforce returned to work over the weekend and
90% were present on Monday, enough to resume production at the
mine, Mr. Tsatsawane said. He said the company isn't "100%
comfortable [with the situation in the Rustenburg region].. because
workers at the Marikana mine are still negotiating wages."
But he expressed confidence in efforts to reach a peaceful
solution.
Lonmin PLC (LMI.LN) said Tuesday it's willing to raise its wage
offer to miners tabled last week and that workers have said they
are prepared to accept a lower offer, as talks to end a five-week
strike at its Marikana mine resume later in the day. The unrest has
been marked by violent clashes that have killed 45 people,
including 34 miners shot by police.
Since the strike at Lonmin, workers have stopped operations at
South Africa's second-largest gold producer, Gold Fields Ltd.
(GFI.JO), and its largest platinum producer, Anglo American
Platinum Ltd. Anglo Platinum shut five of its mines, or about a
third of production last week, but said it planned to reopen
Tuesday thanks to a police crackdown that has stifled a number of
the protests since Friday.
Aquarius Platinum Ltd (APQ.AU) also said Monday that it had
restarted platinum production at its Kroondal mine in the
Rustenburg region, about 100 kilometers northwest of
Johannesburg.
Mr. Tsatsawane said the amount of lost production at Xstrata's
Kroondal mine "has not been quantified" yet.
-Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
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