The bus, green with about 30 seats and a Lonmin sign on the side, was one of three empty shuttles that a reporter from Bloomberg News saw on May 16 heading toward Lonmin's Wonderkop mine, close to where 34 wage protesters were killed by police in 2012. Today companies and worker representatives meet for the third and final day of a judge-led mediation process. Van Rensburg's defiance reflects anger and masks fear in the Rustenburg area of the North West province, where as many as 1.6 million people have been affected by the strike at operations owned by Lonmin, Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum. Five people have been murdered this month, including four miners, while thousands of starving families rely on food aid. The workers, who don't get paid when on strike, have lost a third of their annual wages, meaning it would take at least three years to make back the money lost, even if they get the 12,500 rand they're demanding.