12,000 SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD FIELD WORKERS GO ON A WILDCAT STRIKE

August 31, 2012 By 6 Comments

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB)-

 Approximately 12,000 employees at Gold Fields’ KDC East mine embarked on an illegal strike on Wednesday night, the gold miner announced on Friday.

In an emailed statement, the gold miner said, to date, two night shifts and two day shifts (including Friday) have been lost.

The KDC East operations, which was formerly known as the Kloof mine, produces 1660 ounces of gold per day, according to Gold Fields spokesman, Sven Lunche.

Asked if there was any relationship between this strike and the continued unrest in the platinum sector, Lunche told Mineweb, that there was no evidence of involvement by the AMCU union that has been at the centre of much of the unrest in the platinum belt. Rather, Lunche said, “The strike stems from an intra-NUM (National Union of Mineworkers) branch dispute.”

REST OF THE ARTICLE AT THE LINK AT MINEWEB

HERE IS MY TAKE:

They say that this has nothing to do with the 34 miners killed at the Lonmin’s Marikana mine… but I think it certainly does.  Can you imagine 12,000 workers at a mine.  There is nothing like that anywhere else in the world.  The gold mines in Nevada have a few hundred or others in the world a few thousand… but 12,000 workers?

The world is getting ready to realize what the term NATIONALIZATION is.


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Comments

  1. Avatar of PowerBall PowerBall says:
    August 31, 2012 at 12:06 PM

    Just the slightest hint of war or bad news and oil does a flash spike.  Now are witnessing a similar reaction in the precious metals market.
    I wonder if other workers are about to join these striked?  This could get interesting but maybe not in a good way.
     
     
     

  2. Avatar of AGXIIK AGXIIK says:
    August 31, 2012 at 12:14 PM

    There’ve been numerous shootings and mine violence in South America.  Peruvian and Chilean miners were shot and killed in the last several months.  This has the potential to spread as miners see their brothers being killed by police of mine owner paramilitary forces.  That never works out well.

  3. Avatar of asimee asimee says:
    August 31, 2012 at 12:37 PM

    I can’t help think that all this media coverage of the miners might allow the manipulators to pull up somewhat on the brakes so that they can turn around to blame the miners for the escalating prices. The general public would accept that and not  equate the price moves to troubles with the overall economy.

  4. Avatar of andyz andyz says:
    August 31, 2012 at 1:03 PM

    Rocco – yes, I also smell resources Nationalization coming up, and not just in SA.
     
    AGXIIK – i agree, these events are quite ominous. There’s little doubt that miners/unions worldwide are talking to each other.

  5. Avatar of silvermeddler silvermeddler says:
    August 31, 2012 at 6:16 PM

    The Worldwide Wildcat Strike is coming!

  6. Avatar of Sumkid Sumkid says:
    September 1, 2012 at 11:54 PM

    With gold and silver’s prices being manipulated, growing demands especially from the Eastern countries, annual inflation, energy’s demands rising, South America mine violence and shooting, above ground supplies getting lower and now, with 12000 South African going on a wildcat strike, I now know where the prices of these two metals are heading on the long term.

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