Anglo American Platinum, the world's number one platinum producer, said Tuesday it was closing four shafts in northern South Africa and cutting 14,000 jobs in the volatile mining sector that witnessed violent strikes last year.
Some 13,000 jobs cut will be in Rustenburg, the heart of the country's platinum belt in the North West province and the site of last year's protests. Dozens died around the Lonmin Plc mines in the area.
The closures could spark another wave of unrest, as more militant workers' groups such as the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) have threatened to launch new strikes if mining firms follow through on layoffs.
Amplats is also to sell its Union mines, but no buyer has yet been identified.
"It is premature to talk about interest in these assets at this point in time," an Amplats spokeswoman told dpa. "Union mines will be configured to protect near-term value."
Wildcat strikes at key mines last year led to a severe drop in productivity. Mining firms agreed to above-inflation pay rises for employees in order to end industrial action.
The South African Chamber of Mines said: "The negative economic impact of falling prices and rapidly rising costs was exacerbated by the wildcat strikes that took place in 2012.
"All these factors have led to more than 50 per cent of the platinum mining companies in South Africa to be loss-making at current prices and current costs."
Amplats said it "will begin a period of consultation with key stakeholders," while the main union said it was open to negotiations.
Lesiba Seshoka, spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), told dpa by telephone: "We are very shocked by the decision. We are appealing to workers to have unity and discipline to deal with this retrenchment."
The largest mining union in the country, NUM has been facing challenges from the smaller ACMU, which led some of last year's strikes.
Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant told broadcaster eNCA that firms should "negotiate with workers first before taking a final decision."
Mining analyst Peter Major said that Amplats, which has been planning a restructuring for more than a year, was keeping the four shafts on care and maintenance - meaning they may be reopened at some point.
"This could just be an opening chip in some kind of bargaining," Major said.
The platinum shaft closures will lead to a reduction in production of some 400,000 ounces a year, with Amplats setting a new baseline production target of 2.1-2.3 million ounces annually, the company said.
The cost of platinum surged to a three-month high following the Amplats announcement, pushing the cost of an ounce above that of gold for the first time in more than a year.
While Amplats said it intends to create 14,000 new jobs to balance the effects of the restructuring, analyst Major said new jobs - possibly in construction - would likely offer lower salaries than mining, which is a relatively high paying industry in South Africa.
Some key global mining firms, such as Rio Tinto, have refrained from investing in South Africa, in part owing to high costs and policy uncertainty in recent years.
Meanwhile, Harmony Gold has given workers at its Kusasalethu mine outside Johannesburg 60 days to resolve a long-running labour dispute or it would cut some 6,000 jobs, the Business Day newspaper reported.
Highlighting violence and damage to property around the mine, chief executive Graham Briggs, was quoted as saying: "We can't continue like this. Yes, it is as stark as that."
There are also ongoing strikes in the Western Cape province, where farm workers have downed tools in often violent protests for higher wages, affecting vineyards and fruit production, amid sluggish negotiations.
There are pitched battles between seasonal labourers, who make just 7.5 dollars a day and are demanding the sum be doubled.
Health officials and witnesses said a farm worker shot on Monday by police firing rubber bullets died of his injuries in hospital.