South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers said that it expected all of its members employed at the Richards Bay Minerals JV – a joint titanium venture of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton – to join the strike over wages that began on Friday.



A representative of Richards Bay Minerals said that 586 union laborers were employed at the site, although it was not clear how many would participate in the strike.

The union is demanding a year-long deal that would include a 10% pay raise and an increase of $548-$822 in the housing allowance, depending on the employee group. Richards Bay Minerals has offered a pay raise of 8% across the board for the first year, with a guaranteed 6% increase for the second and third years.

No further talks were planned between management and labor.

The NUM has also initiated a strike at Exxaro's mineral sands unit and said that it plans to extend the strike to other Exxaro, BHP Billiton, and Rio Tinto operations.