The industry that built South Africa is shedding jobs, with 80% of the local mining industry currently unprofitable, according to the Chamber of Mines. In the next few months, the Department of Mineral Resources expects the industry to shed 32000 jobs.Added to this, according to the Chamber of Mines, is the 47,000 lost since 2012.This affects hundreds of thousands of people in mining-reliant communities where a miner supports five or more dependants, according to Jon Capel, director of Benchmarks Foundation.Job losses, he explained, placed a strain on the already stretched healthcare because retrenched workers were unable to go to mine hospitals.Anglo American, once the country's biggest company, is expected to announce details of its restructuring plan tomorrow.It is believed it wants to sell off its coal mines. Last year, Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani announced plans to slash two-thirds of the workforce and sell off all underperforming mines to focus on profitable ones.Mining expert Peter Major called the situation "a disaster".Once South African mining dominated the globe, but now accounts for about 4% of trade, down from 47% in 1980 and 18% in 2000."The gold-mining industry has shed 450000 men since 1988," said Major. "No one has sunk a new shaft in 10 years. If people sat and decided how to destroy the industry in 20 years, they could not have come up with a better plan."Another concern to investors is the confusion over BBEE transactions."Investors stay away. Much of the mining law is ambiguous. We have been awaiting a new mining charter since 2010," explained Deloitte Africa mining head Tony Zoghby.Labour tensions, the lack of productivity, and red tape are also straining the industry, and the quality of ore mined has decreased.Chamber CEO Roger Baxter said: "Over the past decade, productivity in terms of per kilogram per employee has declined - between 25% and 30% in the gold sector and by as much as between 40% and 50% in the platinum sector."Labour costs per kilogram increased by between 150% and 250% in these sectors but the industry remains a significant employer, with about 495,000 employees at the end of 2014. But all these jobs are under threat."Restructuring is often key to survival and therefore the preserving of jobs in the long term."..