* Union says options in gold dispute now “exhausted”
* Platinum output falls 1.9 pct in August
* One man burnt to death in protest
(Adds man killed, trucker strike latest)
By Sherilee Lakmidas and Agnieszka Flak
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Striking gold miners in
South Africa have rejected the industry’s latest wage offer, a
trade union said on Thursday, dimming hopes that wildcat strikes
that have paralysed the sector could end anytime soon.
Since August, almost 100,000 workers across South Africa –
including 75,000 in the mining sector – have downed tools in
often illegal and violent strikes that are hitting economic
growth and undermining investor confidence in the minerals hub.
“This was a final offer from the companies. They said take
it or leave it,” Lesiba Seshoka, spokesman for the National
Union of Mineworkers said. “Now that it has been rejected our
options have been exhausted.”
Africa’s top two bullion producers, AngloGold Ashanti
and Gold Fields, have been hit by an estimated
48,000 miners taking to the streets to fight for higher wages.
The action is costing AngloGold 32,000 ounces of gold each
week, while Gold Fields is losing 2,300 ounces a day at the two
mines that have been affected.
Continued…
