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Platinum prices jump as mine dispute spreads

13 September 2012 08:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. The price of platinum jumped nearly 3 percent Wednesday as protests spread at South African mines, Associated Press reported.

Workers at a mine run by Anglo American Platinum appeared to go on strike, demanding higher wages. The company denied that the workers were on strike, but said it shut down its mines in the town of Rustenberg for safety reasons.

It’s the latest chapter in a battle that exploded about a month ago, when workers at a nearby mine run by Lonmin went on strike.

The movement has been violent, with dozens of miners killed. The majority of the world’s platinum comes from South Africa, and the metal’s price has climbed nearly 20 percent in the past month.

On Wednesday, platinum for October delivery rose $42.60, or 2.7 percent, to $1,649.60 per ounce.

The strike at Anglo Platinum is especially weighty because it is the largest platinum company in the world, said Erica Rannestad, a commodities analyst at CPM Group. Lonmin is the third-largest.