When European steel makers began to reduce their orders towards the end of last year, many of the 4,300 workers at the Sishen iron ore mine in South Africa's Northern Cape province were understandably nervous for their jobs. Ten months on though those anxieties are a distant memory.

A 35 per cent increase in demand from China's growing industry has compensated for the 50 per cent decline from recession-hit Europe, Japan and South Korea. Executives at Kumba, the Anglo American subsidiary that runs the facility, are pressing ahead with expansion plans.

For Eddie Majadibodu, a trade unionist who negotiates for the miners, it makes a refreshing contrast from the gloom in sectors such as platinum, where thousands of jobs have been lost. “There were concerns but the company is doing well,” he said.