The South African mines ministry has told platinum miner Lonmin that it failed to meet some of its social and labour obligations, the producer said on Tuesday, but added it did not think its operating licence was in jeopardy.
Mines minister Mosebenzi Zwane had pledged in writing to a court that he would not publicly say changes to an industry charter were "law" until a judicial challenge has been completed.
South Africa holds the world's biggest reserves of platinum, chrome and manganese, but investment in the sector has dropped in each of the past two years as a result of increasing legal uncertainty and labour disputes.
Official figures released on Thursday signall a bad start for the second half of the year with business confidence at its lowest in more than three decades.
Summer is the season for drilling, and with the uptick in the precious metals market since 2016, companies are finally able to have the budgets to properly explore their prospects, says Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter.
The country's Reserve Bank has ordered platinum and chrome miners to surrender 80 percent of their export earnings to the central bank as the country struggles to contain a crippling dollar note shortage.
