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Mining Weekly reports that trade union Uasa has expressed concern about the dangerous situation prevailing at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in KwaZulu-Natal and has called for decisive action from President Cyril Ramaphosa, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, the police and the provincial government.
The union indicated in a media release that on 4 June community members started burning mine equipment amid their feud with the mine. The community has had a prolonged dispute with the mine, including a traditional leadership squabble and another in which locals demanded to be employed at the mine. The parent company of RBM, Rio Tinto, last year threatened to close the operation, which employs about 5,000 workers. Rio Tinto has also threatened to hold back on R6.5-billion worth of investment in RBM, which it initially pledged during a Presidential Investment Summit late in 2019. Uasa warned that the burning of equipment, coupled with the fatal shooting of RBM’s GM Nico Swart last month, might just see the mine closing. RBM is apparently the largest taxpayer in the province. “The mine and its workers deserve nothing less than immediate action to secure operations, jobs and safety,” the union exhorted.
- Read the original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly
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