As a result, it was putting its mining licence in jeopardy, she told South African radio.

BBC: Amplats 'arrogant', says South Africa minister

Last year, for instance, a group of British and American investment funds beat off an attempt by the French government, for political reasons, to strip a French mining company in which they held shares of a licence to dig in Canada.

ECONOMIST: Minority shareholders

It's like paying a tariff for a long-term licence, explains the scion of an old mining house.

ECONOMIST: South African race relations