South Africa's Mining Crisis has deep Rhodesian roots

On 18 February 2013 the Financial Times commented on the Marikana unrest in the platinum mines that led to the police shooting dead of 34 striking miners, 

At the root of the unrest was the same racially based system of cheap, migrant labour that [Cecil] Rhodes pioneered at Kimberley in the 19th century.  This has stubbornly survived attempts to improve workers' conditions and left South Africa's labour-intensive mines exposed as technology improves productivity elsewhere' (see  FT 18th February 2013).

The same day the FT reported that nine employees were injured when rubber bullets were fired by Anglo American Platinum security personnel, and that three security staff were injured in the same incident after the company announced that it may close two mines with the loss of 14,000 jobs. The unrest appears to have been aimed at the once dominant National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) that has been outflanked by the more militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) (see FT 18th February 2013).

To British Imperialism