Grandad of SA mining faces its demise
Miner got into trouble partly due to early mechanisation drive
The name Lonmin will forever be linked to the deaths of 44 people at Marikana in 2012, but the company itself could soon be consumed by Sibanye-Stillwater and the assets of the once-proud, third-largest global platinum miner will become just a reporting line. It didn't have to be like this. The 109-year-old Lonmin was one of the pioneers in trying to forge a mechanised mining strategy which has now become the holy grail for SA's mining sector and the platinum industry in particular. The vision under then-CEO Brad Mills was ahead of its time and remarkably prescient. It was a strategy he steadfastly and clearly articulated since his appointment to the nascent platinum miner in 2004. Mills said at the time: "With many of the projects advancing from the trial phase into that of fully fledged mining operations, we now have many people working in a safer, healthier environment who are highly skilled and hence better rewarded." The thinking was to have safe, low-cost, continuous mining an...
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