South Africa’s Mining Industry Is About to Come to a Standstill
- President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national lockdown
- The shutdown would be unprecedented, Minerals Council says
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South Africa’s iconic mines, from the ever-deepening gold shafts on which the economy was founded to massive iron ore pits and rich platinum seams, are about to go silent.
From midnight Thursday, all but a few coal operations needed to fuel the country’s power stations are expected to be included in a nationwide lockdown aimed at containing the coronavirus. The sweeping shutdown is unprecedented in the 150-year history of South Africa’s mining industry, which today employs more than 450,000 people.