"I think more people will die," said a fired miner at Rustenburg's Impala Platinum mine, in North West, where an illegal strike has entered its fifth week.

A miner working in one of the Impala Platinum shafts was shot dead early yesterday during clashes between strikers, police and workers on night shift.

North West police spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said the police are investigating.

The killing has been referred to the Independent Complaints Directorate.

It is not known whether a police rubber bullet or an armed striker killed the worker.

Impala Platinum has lost over R1.5-billion in revenue since the strike began in the middle of last month.

"The strike at Implats, and increasingly militant unions, are not doing us any good. South Africa has the nationalisation issue on the left hand and now on the right hand there is the radical industrial action," said Cadiz analyst Peter Major.

"South Africa's mine shares sell at a discount abroad relative to others, despite South African mines' profitability."

He said investors would rather invest in raw materials, or gold or platinum funds, than buy mining shares.

"The strict regulatory environment, industrial action, illegal strikes and the nationalisation issue mean investors view [South African] mining shares as risky," said Major.

This affects the ability of the industry to raise capital and expand operations, he said.

Chief economist at Investment Solutions, Chris Hart, said that undervalued mining shares affected "companies' ability to raise capital through shares. Capital is critical in South Africa for growth and [reducing] unemployment."

Hart said mines could not expand their operations and employ more people because of the high cost of raising capital.

Major said Impala Platinum's competitor, Anglo Platinum, had shed almost 30 000 jobs in the past three years as labour costs continued to rise while commodity prices were static.

He said the illegal strike might force Impala Platinum to close less profitable mine shafts and retrench workers because costs had doubled over the past five years but the value of platinum had not increased.

Major said workers had demanded increases above 10% a year without productivity increasing.