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Rio Tinto it had halted all mining operations at Richards Bay Minerals in South Africa and downgraded its titanium output guidance, following an escalation in violence in the communities surrounding the operation.
The mining company said a Richards Bay Minerals employee had been shot and seriously injured in recent days amid an escalation in violence against staff.
All mining operations had been halted and smelters were operating at a reduced level, with a minimum number of employees now on site.
Titanium dioxide slag production for 2019 is now expected to be at the bottom end of 2019 guidance of between 1.2m and 1.4m tonnes.
Construction of the Zulti South project had also been temporarily paused.
'The safety of our people is Rio Tinto's key priority and we have taken decisive action to stop operations to reduce the risk of serious harm to our team members,' energy and mining head Bold Baatar said.
'We are in discussions with the local communities, regional and national governments, and the police in order to find a way to address the safety and security issues,' he added.
'Our goal is to return RBM to normal operations in a safe and sustainable way.'
'We would like to acknowledge and thank the police and authorities for their support.'