Africa's mining layoffs herald social crisis

Johannesburg

AS mining companies in resource-rich Africa bleed jobs due to plunging commodity prices, the ripple effect of redundancies has raised concern about social unrest amid declining economic growth.

Top mineral-producing countries like South Africa, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have seen cash-squeezed companies slash workforces, shut operations and reduce capacity.

In South Africa, where mining has long been a critical source of jobs, unions say 19,000 jobs are on the line.

Most of the country's current mining layoffs are in the platinum sector, which has seen a price drop of about 40 per cent since 2011, while the gold sector has also been badly hi…