Lonmin

Key takeaways

Lonmin belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lonmin to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lonmin from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lonmin plc, formerly Lonrho plc, was a British producer of platinum group metals operating in the Bushveld Complex of South Africa. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange. Its registered office was in London, and its operational headquarters were in Johannesburg, South Africa. Lonmin rose to international attention following the Marikana miners' strike in August 2012, in which over 100 striking Lonmin employees were shot (36 killed and 78 wounded) by South African Police Service officers. On 10 June 2019, Sibanye-Stillwater completed the acquisition of Lonmin plc.

History The company was incorporated in the United Kingdom on 13 May 1909 as the London and Rhodesian Mining and Land Company Limited. It had a founding capital of £1300, which was raised by seven shareholders. Led by Julius Weil, the company started to invest in mining rights in Rhodesia. In 1912 Lonrho started to invest in farming land as well and by 1945 it had become Rhodesia's biggest company. Businessman Tiny Rowland was recruited as chief executive in 1962. For many years during the second half of the twentieth century it was frequently in the news, not only due to the politically sensitive part of the world in which it had mining businesses, but also – as it strove to become a conglomerate not wholly dependent on these businesses – in a number of takeover battles, most notably for the Harrods of Knightsbridge department store. In 1968, Lonrho acquired Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, a gold mining business in Ghana. The former Conservative minister Duncan Sandys, a director of Ashanti, became Lonrho's chairman in 1972. Sir Angus Ogilvy, married to a member of the British royal family (Princess Alexandra), was a Lonrho director and this increased media interest in the company's affairs. Ogilvy's career ended when Lonrho was involved in a sanctions-busting scandal concerning trade with Rhodesia. Prime Minister, Edward Heath, criticised the company, describing it in the House of Commons in 1973 as "an unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism." By 1979, Lonrho employed 140,000 people worldwide. During the 1980s, Lonrho entered the British newspaper market, buying the Sunday newspaper The Observer in 1981 and the newly launched daily Today in 1986. Today was sold to News International the following year, while the Guardian Media Group bought the Observer in 1993. Tiny Rowland was finally ejected from Lonrho in October 1993 after a boardroom tussle with director Dieter Bock. He was replaced by Nick Morrell, a former chief executive of The Observer. Two months before Rowland's death (on 26 July 1998) the assets of Lonrho were split. Two publicly listed companies, Lonrho plc and Lonrho Africa plc were created – the former retaining all the non-African businesses and mining assets. In 1999, Lonrho plc was renamed as Lonmin plc and a new era as a focused mining company began. In 2000 Gordon Haslem became CEO. In 2004 Brad Mills became CEO: Mills in turn announced his intention to resign from his position in 2008. Mills leaves behind a "significant contribution in developing the company over the past four years" according to chairperson, Sir John Craven, as his introduction of mechanized mining has increased safety for the miners, as well as increasing productivity. Lonmin indicated that former chief strategic officer responsible for the company's business development, Ian Farmer, would replace him. On 1 October 2008, after building a 24.9% stake in Lonmin, Xstrata announced it was not proceeding with a takeover pitched at £33 per Lonmin share, blaming the failure of its bid on "unprecedented uncertainty in financial markets" caused by the 2008 financial crisis. Xstrata and its 24.9% stake in Lonmin was later acquired by Glencore on 2 May 2013. Glencore announced on 11 February 2015 that it intends to divest its 23.9% stake in Lonmin, which it inherited through the acquisition of Xstrata. Glencore's divestment in Lonmin will be implemented by way of a distribution in specie to Glencore shareholders. Farmer resigned as CEO in 2012 for health reasons. In October 2017, the Mining Forum of South Africa (MFSA) and Bapo ba Mogale Investments (BBMI) pleaded to President Jacob Zuma to suspend Lonmin's operating licence over non-compliance with its social and labour plan (SLP) for the years 2014 to 2018. In 2019, Lonmin was acquired by Sibanye-Stillwater.

Operations The Company was a producer of platinum group metals operating mainly in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. It had two multi-shaft mining operations, located respectively in:

Marikana Region Limpopo Region

Strikes

Marikana miners' strike

At the Marikana platinum mines, operated by Lonmin at Marikana near Rustenburg, 3,000 workers walked off the job on 10 August 2012 after Lonmin failed to meet with workers. The event garnered international attention following a series of violent incidents which began when leaders from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) allegedly opened fire on striking NUM members on 11 August. The Marikana Massacre, as referred to in the media, occurred when police broke up an occupation by striking Lonmin workers of a 'koppie' (hilltop) near Nkaneng shack settlement in Marikana on Thursday 16 August 2012. As a result of the police shootings, 34 miners died and an additional 78 miners were injured causing anger and outcry against the police and South African government. Further controversy emerged after it was discovered that most of the victims were shot in the back and many victims were shot far from police lines. The violence on 16 August 2012 was the single most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the end of the apartheid era. During the Marikana Commission, it also emerged that Lonmin management solicited Lonmin shareholder and ANC heavyweight, Cyril Ramaphosa, to coordinate "concomitant action" against "criminal" protesters and is seen by many as therefore being responsible for the massacre. Submissions by the South African Police Service accused Lonmin of being responsible for the violence because of their failure to negotiate with striking miners.

2014 South African platinum strike

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lonmin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lonmin claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lonmin before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lonmin ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lonmin

In research: Lonmin appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lonmin in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lonmin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1909 establishments in England, 2019 mergers and acquisitions, Companies based in Johannesburg, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lonmin outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Lonmin in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lonmin means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lonmin out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lonmin in simple terms?

Lonmin plc, formerly Lonrho plc, was a British producer of platinum group metals operating in the Bushveld Complex of South Africa. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Why does Lonmin matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lonmin?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lonmin.