Mining mogul and the Executive Chair of African Rainbow Minerals, Patrice Motsepe says he has been resisting pressure from shareholders to close down the Modikwa Platinum Mine in Burgersfort, on the border of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, where six miners were brutally killed.
He says the mine is not generating money.
Motsepe and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe have visited the mine following a petrol-bomb attack on a bus that killed six mineworkers. Motsepe however says unemployment will worsen if the mine is closed down.
“Many of our shareholders in South Africa and overseas are saying you must close down Modikwa mine, you have to close Modikwa Mine, Modikwa mine is not making money and what is worse is that we have to take money from the other mines to subsidise this mine and what I said is but we also have commitments to the communities. We also have commitments to the workers at this mine and we also have commitments to maintain jobs in our country in the midst of unemployment.”
