Strike-hit Lonmin cancels contract for 1,200 jobs at mine Marking the first job losses to arise from the troubles, the company said on Monday that as part of its ongoing review of its spending plans it is moving its K4 shaft at the Marikana site to "care and maintenance." That meant it would terminate its contract with contractor Murray and Roberts, which supplies 1,200 staff to work on the shaft, with effect from October 18. While the spending review was already under way before the strike began, the decisions made have been impacted by the trouble at the mine, which has shut down production. The company said it now expects to produce between 685,000 ounces and 700,000 ounces of platinum for the year to the end of this month. It had already said in August it was unlikely to meet its previous target of 750,000 ounces. The number of people who have died since the start of the strike over pay and conditions now stands at 45, with mining activity at Marikana remaining "minimal" at the violence continues. Of the dead, 34 were killed on August 16 when police opened fire on protestors. Lonmin's acting chief executive Simon Scott said in an opinion piece published in South Africa's Sunday Times that the deaths had been a "wake-up call" for the company and South Africa. But after one workers" union on Friday rejected its pay offer, he reiterated that Lonmin has to operate "within the reality of the financial markets." "There has been a lot of talk about the workers demanding a net monthly wage of R[and] 12500 [£930]," he said. In stark financial terms, this would cost R2.3billion.This would put many thousands of existing jobs at risk and indeed challenge the viability of the business. As Lonmin resumed talks with representative of its Marikana workforce, the strikes continued to threaten other miners operating in the country. Two platinum mines reopened on Monday following a crack-down on violent protests at the weekend, with Aquarius Platinum's Kroondal platinum mine and Xstrata's chrome mine near Rustenburg both restarting operations. But while another miner, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) said it hoped to restart operations on Tuesday, a representative of one group of strikers described that as a "joke" and said management were "whistling in the dark."