Messages from faraway South Africa resemble battlefield reports. In the evening of August 16, bloody clashes occurred between striking miners and special police forces, as a result of which 34 miners died and 78 were injured. This tragedy happened near a platinum mine in Marikan. The country has not known such bloodshed since the end of the apartheid era. South African President Jacob Zuma was forced to urgently interrupt his participation in the summit of South African countries and head to the riot area.
The Republic of South Africa is exceptionally rich in minerals. In its bowels there are many diamonds, gold, platinum, chromium, uranium, polymetallic ores. The export of these minerals is one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings. Therefore, there are many mines in the country where thousands of miners work. In many mines, mining is carried out at great depths. This is very difficult and dangerous work, and the size of the salary is quite modest. It is unprofitable for employers to raise it, as well as take measures to protect miners' labor, since the number of people who want to get a miner’s job is estimated at the same many thousands. In addition to South African citizens, these are also workers from neighboring countries, where the standard of living is much lower, and therefore even modest (by the standards of South Africa) salaries seem like the ultimate dream.
The unfortunate Marican mine, which belongs to the influential British company Lonmin, was no exception. This company has been mining precious metals in South Africa for over a century, and Marikana is of particular importance to it. Suffice it to say that it is from this mine that more than 10% of all platinum mined in the world is extracted. In the end, miners working at Marikan went on strike, demanding higher wages. The situation quickly grew tense, this was also facilitated by the sharp rivalry between the leadership of the two mining unions.
On August 16, a huge crowd of workers, many of whom had edged weapons, surrounded the police guarding the mine. It is still difficult to establish why the police fired on strikers. The fact remains: a tragedy of great proportions occurred. Well, the Lonmin company has already suffered major losses due to the mine’s shutdown and a sharp drop in its stock price. Truly: "Avaricious pays twice."
