[7] 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.
[9] 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.
Prime Minister, Edward Heath, criticised the company, describing it in the House of Commons in 1973 as "an unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism.
[12] Tiny Rowland was finally ejected from Lonrho in October 1993 after a boardroom tussle with director Dieter Bock.
[20] Lonmin indicated that former chief strategic officer responsible for the company's business development, Ian Farmer, would replace him.
The Company was a producer of platinum group metals operating mainly in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa.
[36][37] Submissions by the South African Police Service accused Lonmin of being responsible for the violence because of their failure to negotiate with striking miners.
This is the same salary for which striking miners were shot and killed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 2012.
[39] The strike, the longest in the history of South Africa, ended in late June 2014 when the mineworkers union signed a 3-year settlement deal with the mine owners which saw the lowest paid workers, whose basic salary was less than R12,500, increased by R1,000 ($95) a month for two years, and by R950 per month in the third year.
[citation needed] In October 2017, Mining Forum of South Africa (MFSA) and Bapo ba Mogale Investments (BBMI) pleaded to President Jacob Zuma to suspend Lonmin's operating licence over non-compliance with its social and labour plan (SLP) for the years 2014 to 2018.