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Johannesburg - Workers at Palabora Mining Company [JSE:PAM] have extended an underground protest, halting mining at the country's largest copper mine, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Tuesday.
"They are demanding additional danger pay for working underground," NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said, adding the nearly 100 striking workers had been on strike since last week.
Palabora Mining, a member of the Rio Tinto Group, said underground operations had been suspended after the workers started their sit-in on Wednesday.
"This action by the crews is a significant concern and is in contravention of their obligations to the mine's policies," the company said in a statement.
Palabora, South Africa's only producer of refined copper, produces about 80,000 tonnes of refined copper a year.
As a fresh wave of illegal strikes in South Africa gained momentum, protests at Exxaro's Grootgeluk coal mine in Limpopo province turned violent on Monday with police firing rubber bullets at a group of 2 000 strikers.
"The protesters hijacked two trucks and blocked the roads," said Ronel Otto, spokesperson for Limpopo police.
Diversified mining group Exxaro has reported wildcat strikes at five of its coal mines, unnerving investors worried about a repeat of deadly protests that shook South Africa's economy last year
