LONDON: British miner Lonmin, which is grappling with fallout from a violent mine strike in South Africa that left 44 people dead, on Friday named that its chief financial officer as acting chief executive.
Lonmin, the world's third-largest platinum producer, said Simon Scott would temporarily replace Ian Farmer, who has been struck down with a serious illness.
"Ian Farmer, the chief executive officer of Lonmin Plc, has commenced a course of treatment and it will be some months before he is able to return to work full-time," the miner said in a brief statement.
"In light of this, the board of Lonmin has today appointed Simon Scott, the chief financial officer, as acting chief executive officer for the time being.
"Simon will be supported by the existing team of executive VPs at Lonmin and the executive committee."
About 3,000 rock drill operators at Lonmin's Marikana mine launched an illegal strike on August 10 that quickly devolved into clashes with non-strikers.
Ten people including two police were killed, leading to the crackdown on August 16 when police gunned down 34 armed miners. Police insist that they used teargas first and only opened fire after miners shot at them. The miners say they were armed with only spears, machetes and clubs.
South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday named a judicial probe with a wide-ranging mandate to investigate not only the violence but also the labour conditions at the mines.
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