Aquarius chief steps down amid unrest Stuart Murray has stepped down as chief executive of Aquarius Platinum as the world's fourth-largest platinum producer by volume grapples with escalating industrial unrest and weakening demand. The company gave no reason for Mr Murray's resignation, which takes effect immediately, but said he would remain employed until March 2013 to "provide whatever assistance is required to affect an orderly handover." Jean Nel, commercial director of the platinum producer, has been appointed interim chief operating officer, reporting to chairman Nicholas Sibley, while the board considers a permanent replacement. Last month Aquarius was forced to temporarily suspend operations at its Kroondal mine, located near Rustenburg in South Africa's North West Province amid a wave of strikes and disputes between rival unions that have hit the industry this year. In August three people died and at least 20 others were injured in clashes at Kroondal between security staff and former employees who were dismissed following strike action in June. Aquarius was among the first of South Africa's platinum miners to scale back production earlier this year, ahead of the violent escalation in strike action across the sector, by mothballing two of its lossmaking mines until demand recovered. In June it said it would cease production at its Marikana mine, jointly owned with Anglo American Platinum, after warnings from Mr Murray that the sector's prospects were threatened by "unabated . . . cost inflation, little fundamental demand recovery and continuing volatility in financial markets." Last week Amplats, the world's biggest producer of the precious metal, formally dismissed about 12,000 illegally striking workers - about a fifth of its workforce - in response to industrial unrest in South Africa that had already cost the company R700m ($80m) in lost revenue. More than 100,000 workers throughout the industry are estimated to be caught up in industrial action. In August Aquarius's fellow platinum miner Lonmin appointed its chief financial officer Simon Scott as acting chief executive as it also dealt with violent strikes at its operations in the country. Chief executive Ian Farmer was forced to step down temporarily after being hospitalised with a serious illness. Aquarius's turnover fell 29 per cent in the year ending June 30 to $485.7m, compared with the previous year, as it generated an operating loss of $45.4m. The group moved from a pre-tax profit of $25.4m to a pre-tax loss of $189m as it absorbed a foreign exchange loss of $95m on the revaluation of inter-company loans. Shares in Aquarius, which traded above 800p in the summer of 2008, fell 4.5p, or almost 10 per cent, to 43p on Monday, compared with a 52-week high of 206p achieved last October.