Wildcat strikers at a platinum mine in South Africa that has been the site of a deadly standoff have rejected a pay offer from the owners.<br/> <br />The offer from mining firm Lonmin came in well below the number the workers have been demanding.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Xhosa) WORKERS REPRESENTATIVE, MOLIFI PHELE, WITH MAN STANDING ON HIS RIGHT TRANSLATING, SAYING:<br/> <br />"We are not interested, what he is offering cannot buy you anything. All we want is 12,500 rand."<br/> <br />The pay offer is the first formal proposal put forward by the platinum producer during the five week strike.<br/> <br />Last month, 34 miners were killed by police during a tense standoff which has poisoned industrial relations across the sector.<br/> <br />Established unions had been pushing for more modest increases, but this breakaway group say that approach is too timid.<br/> <br />The price of platinum has spiked more than 20 percent since the shootings in South Africa, which is home to 80 percent of known supplies.<br/> <br />Joanne Nicholson, Reuters
