- The risk of a strike by workers at South African gold mines rises after the second-biggest miner union rejects a pay offer even as the largest union accepts it.
- The wage proposals by producers including AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), Harmony Gold (NYSE:HMY) and Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBGL) are "pathetic,” says the Treasurer of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, which speaks for 31% of gold employees; however, the offer was accepted by the National Union of Mineworkers, which represents 52% of miners.
- The companies hoped to avoid a repeat of last year’s five-month strike at platinum mines that crippled output and led to job losses; with weak gold prices, South Africa's largest producers are losing money on ~35% of production at current prices.