Lonmin Platinum has become the latest South African miner to suffer a walkout by workers, it has been reported.

The South African National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has claimed that 19,000 workers at Lonmin's Marikana operations took part in an illegal strike on Friday, amid unrest over late wage payments.

Mxhasu Sithethi, the Regional Organiser for the NUM, told Platts: "Everyone is complaining it seems that everything is upside down with people's money."

It is understood that a memorandum of complaints relating to a new IT system for the payment of wages was presented to Lonmin's head offices.

The industrial action comes following a three-week long strike by miners at Anglo Platinum's Modikwa platinum mine and a shorter, illegal strike by workers at Impala Platinum.

Elize Strydom, of South Africa's Chamber of Mines, highlighted her concern over the increase in worker unrest. She told Reuters that it was worrying so many strikes have already occurred, even before the next round of wage talks in the mining industry begin.

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