Platinum miner Lonmin gave a stark warning to shareholders: approve a $400-million rights issue or face the company closing down. In a notice of a general shareholder meeting on November 19, the world's third-largest platinum producer outlined the need to pass resolutions to conduct the heavily discounted rights issue.The rights issue is needed to amend Lonmin's debt facilities, consolidate the number of shares in issue and keep the Bapo community's black economic empowerment stake intact by granting it shares.Failure to pass the resolutions could have serious consequences, Lonmin said, pointing out it would cost the company $38-million to conduct the rights issue."In those circumstances the group may have to cease trading and shareholders could lose the entire value of their investment in the shares," it said.Lonmin will unveil the discount at which it will issue the shares as well as the number of shares when it releases its full-year results on November 9."The directors expect the issue price of the new shares to be at a significant discount to the closing middle-market price of the shares on the business day prior to entry into the underwriting agreement in respect of the proposed rights issue," it said.The deep discount would result in a large number of shares being in issue, creating volatility in the share price, so shareholders would be asked on November 19 to approve a resolution to consolidate the shares in issue, resulting "in a share price more appropriate for the company and more attractive to a greater number of investors".The Public Investment Corporation has agreed to underwrite a "material" portion of the shares over and above its 7.65% stake in Lonmin, and the Bapo community, with its 2.24% of Lonmin, has said it will vote for the resolutions.Lonmin converted a 20-year-long royalty payment stream to Bapo into equity ownership late last year and ring-fenced part of the company's procurement to the community, raising its empowerment levels to the mandatory 26%. Any dilution of the Bapo holding would see it drop below that level and threaten its mining rights."The Bapo community has indicated that it does not have the financial resources to participate in the proposed rights issue," Lonmin said.The directors have proposed a massively discounted issue of shares to Bapo at a price the community "is able to pay". The shares will be locked up for 10 years and will be issued separately to the general rights issue, having a "minor dilutive effect on the other shareholders in Lonmin".Lonmin has embarked on a restructuring of its business to cut costs, spending and capital expenditure to ride out low prices over a period the directors think will last another three years. Lonmin is cutting up to 6000 jobs and closing a number of high-cost shafts. By the end of October Lonmin had cut 1978 employee jobs. ..