Serious unrest at Barberton, warns Pan African Resources
The producer says local groups fighting for dominance are disrupting production and destroying property
Pan African Resources is looking at all options to minimise disruptions to its Barberton mine from community unrest, which has taken on a political element, with various parties demanding a say in hiring at the mine, says CE Cobus Loots. Pan African had a major disruption at its Barberton mines near the Swaziland border a number of years ago to remove illegal miners from the underground workings and incurred hefty security costs. It was now dealing with a problem outside its property that had become increasingly disruptive to production over the past six months as two political groups struggled for dominance in the area, Loots said without identifying the groups. "We lost a lot of days to community issues and safety stoppages," he said. "There’s infighting in the communities and there are political issues between parties in the area. "We are stuck in the middle when one party comes to us, saying ‘we insist you do recruitment via us because we represent these communities’, and the ne...
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