Anglo American Platinum says it lost $715M in 2012

JOHANNESBURG - The Associated Press

A man walks past a train carrying goods, at Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani shaft 1 mine in Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. REUTERS photo

Anglo American Platinum Ltd., the world’s largest producer of the metal, announced earlier today it suffered an operating loss of $715 million in 2012 as violent labor unrest in South Africa paralyzed its operations for weeks.

The loss by the company, majority owned by minerals giant Anglo American PLC, comes after a 2011 profit of more than $1 billion, highlighting the dire financial situation the producer now faces. The company has announced plans to possibly close some of its operations and lay off as many as 14,000 workers, sparking worries about a downturn in an industry that’s one of the main economic drivers in Africa’s top economy.

In its results, the company known locally as Amplats blamed the wildcat strikes by tens of thousands of workers that swept across the mining industry in South Africa beginning in August. Some 46 people were killed during a six-week period of violent strikes at Lonmin PLC’s platinum mine last year in Marikana, South Africa, when miners demanded higher wages. In the most shocking incident, police fired into a crowd of striking miners near the Marikana mine on Aug. 16, killing 34.

The labor unrest spread across South Africa and hit Amplats hard, as workers launched a more than eight-week strike that crippled the giant at its operation in Rustenburg, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg. During the strike, the company fired 12,000 workers and then later agreed to reinstate them in October, though the miners did not return to work until November.

Amplats said it lost production of some 305,600 ounces of platinum during the strikes, which it described as an “illegal industrial action.”