South African Mine Shooting: First Salvo in Conflict Between Rich and Poor?

August 17, 2012 from Associated Press

An official said South African police killed 34 striking miners when they opened fire on a charging mob armed with machetes and sticks. As frantic relatives searched for their loved ones a day after Thursday's dramatic shooting incident, a national newspaper warned a "ticking time bomb had exploded" over the widening rift between rich and poor in South Africa.

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Marikana miners' strike

The Marikana miners' strike or Lonmin strike was a wildcat strike at a mine owned by Lonmin in the Marikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa in 2012. The event garnered international attention following a series of violent incidents between the South African Police Serv... Explore this topic

Lonmin

Lonmin plc, formerly the mining division of Lonrho plc, is a producer of platinum group metals operating in the Bushveld Complex of South Africa. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Its registered office is in London, and its o... Explore this topic

South African Police

The South African Police was the national police force in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the de facto police force in the territory of South-West Africa from 1939 to 1981. During South Africa's rule under apartheid, the SAP operated in close conjunction with South Afri... Explore this topic

South Africa

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres of coastline. To the north lie the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mo... Explore this topic

Shooting

Shooting is the act or process of firing firearms or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets, and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman. Shooting can take place in a shooting range ... Explore this topic

North West (South African province)

North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng. Explore this topic

Strike

Strike action, also called labor strike, on strike, greve, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the Industrial Revolution, when mas... Explore this topic

Mining industry of South Africa

Mining in South Africa has been the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy. Large scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 by Erasmus Jacobs and the... Explore this topic

Economic inequality

Economic inequality is the differences in the distribution of economic assets and income within or between populations or individuals. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among countries. The i... Explore this topic

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth from an orebody, lode, vein, seam, or reef, which forms the mineralized package of economic interest to the miner. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal and oil shale, gemstones,... Explore this topic

Also See

Marikana miners' strike

Lonmin

South African Police

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South Africa: Victory for Lonmin Miners? Not So Fast

eNews Channel Africa | Sep 19

While miners celebrated a 22 percent wage increase and the end of their labor dispute at Marikana, Lonmin Platinum Mine announced it is shutting do...