News Summary: In S. Africa, return to Anglo mine
STRIKE ENDS: Anglo American Platinum Ltd. said that miners at its operations in South Africa returned to work, ending a more than eight-week strike that crippled the world's largest platinum producer.
ANOTHER BEGINS: The arrival of workers at Anglo American Platinum's operations in Rustenburg northwest of Johannesburg marked a waning of the crisis that has struck South Africa's mining industry in recent months. But farm workers angered over their minimum daily wages launched a second day of violent protests in the nation's Western Cape, setting fires and marching through the countryside.
DAMAGES: The financial damage to Anglo American, a mining giant, was substantial. In a statement to investors, the company's platinum arm said its year-end earnings "will decrease by more than 20 percent" compared to last year. It blamed the strikes in part for the losses. Meanwhile, world platinum prices have risen about $200 an ounce to about $1,600 during the unrest.
