Mining unrest continues in South Africa despite Lonmin pay deal At the Gold Fields mine near Johannesburg, where 15,000 miners have downed tools, workers echoed the Lonmin strikers" demands for R12,500 (£926) in monthly pay, although the Lonmin deal had fallen slightly short of that amount. Meanwhile, at the Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) mine in Rustenburg, there were clashes between police and locals as miners faced an ultimatum to return to work by Thursday's night shift. If they failed to do so, Amplats, the world's largest platinum producer, threatened to act on a court order declaring the strike illegal, which would give the company the power to fire strikers. "Further delays in returning to work will only increase the risk to the long-term viability of these mines," Amplats said. The problems affecting South Africa's platinum belt come at a time of a wider contraction in the mining industry, as commodity prices fall in the weakening economic environment. Platinum production in particular is burdened with high costs. Separately, mining giant BHP Billiton shelved plans to build a $3bn (£1.85bn) coking coal mine in Queensland, it emerged on Thursday. BHP said it had delayed studies for the Red Hill project "in response to a challenging market environment and a focus on cost reduction."