>>16298818
>The ANC was given $20 million by Lonrho to move their offices from Lusaka, Zambia to Johannesburg to consolidate their internal support. The idea was to set up a political machinery in South Africa, and that costs a lot of money.
>>16298907
>Oppenheimer insisted that the black-white confrontation in Africa would not present a problem for De Beers. He termed the arrangement between De Beers and Black African nations "Mutually advantageous."
>>16303715
“Lonmin plc, formerly the mining division of Lonrho plc”
Lonmin plc, formerly the mining division of Lonrho plc, is a British producer of platinum group metals operating in the Bushveld Complex of South Africa. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Its registered office is in London, and its operational headquarters are in Johannesburg, South Africa.[2]
Lonmin rose to international attention following the Marikana miners' strike in August, 2012, in which over 100 striking Lonmin employees were shot (36 killed, 78 wounded) by South African Police Service officers. [At the time, Cyril (Ramaphosa) was a non-executive director of Lonmin. His company Shanduka was a minority shareholder in Lonmin, so this meant their profits were very much part of his business too. https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/marikana-what-did-cyril-ramaphosa-do/]
History
The Company was incorporated in the United Kingdom on 13 May 1909 as the London and Rhodesian Mining and Land Company Limited.[3]
Businessman Tiny Rowland was recruited as chief executive in 1962.[4] 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.[5] The former Conservative minister Duncan Sandys, a director of Ashanti, became Lonrho's chairman in 1972.[6]
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."[7]
By 1979, Lonrho employed 140,000 people worldwide.[8]
During the 80s, Lonrho entered the British newspaper market, buying the Sunday newspaper The Observer in 1981[9] and the newly launched daily Today in 1986.[10] Today was sold to News International the following year,[11] while the Guardian Media Group bought the Observer in 1993.[9]
Tiny Rowland was finally ejected from Lonrho in October 1993 after a boardroom tussle with director Dieter Bock.[12] He was replaced by Nick Morrell, a former chief executive of The Observer.[13]
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.[14] In 1999, Lonrho plc was renamed as Lonmin plc and a new era as a focused mining company began.[15] In 2000 Gordon Haslem became CEO.[16]
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.[17] Lonmin indicated that former chief strategic officer responsible for the company’s business development, Ian Farmer, would replace him.[18]
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 Global financial crisis.[19] Xstrata and its 24.9% stake in Lonmin was later acquired by Glencore on 2 May 2013.[20] 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.[21]
Farmer resigned as CEO in 2012 for health reasons.