“About 80,000 gold miners in South Africa walked out on strike on Tuesday night, raising fears of renewed violence in the crisis-hit industry and underlining the government’s dwindling authority. The dispute over pay comes a year after 46 people died during unrest in the platinum belt and amid signs that the century-old mining industry model is broken. For years South Africa was the world’s top gold producer, accounting for more than two-thirds of output in 1970, but it has slipped to fifth place with just 6% of global production. The NUM is demanding rises of up to 60% after talks broke down.”
