Unrest in South Africa’s mining sector dramatically escalated as AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s third-largest gold producer by sales, said it had halted operations after tens of thousands of workers went on strike.
The protest will exacerbate investor concerns that industrial strife that began last month in the country’s platinum belt is spreading, and that a recent strike at Lonmin, the London-listed company, and its subsequent wage agreement will fuel worker militancy.
The strikes have so far been in the labour-intensive gold and platinum sectors, but market analysts fear they will spread to other mining sectors and industries as South Africa’s mining companies confront their worst crisis since the end of white rule in 1994.