JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Reuters) – Elite South African police
investigating possible fraudulent mining permits on Wednesday
raided the mines department and a company linked to a dispute
between one of the world’s biggest mining companies and a unit
of steel giant ArcelorMittal.

McIntosh Polela, spokesman for the police Hawks unit, said
the raids centered on the government’s mining department in
Pretoria and its regional offices in Kimberly, which oversees
minerals rights in Northern Cape province.

JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Reuters) – Higher input costs and a
strong rand led to a 63 percent drop in ArcelorMittal South
Africa’s first-half profit and the steelmaker
forecast a difficult third quarter on Wednesday, sending its
shares to a 28-month low.

Weakening demand and persistently high input costs have been
pressuring steelmakers globally, along with tightening monetary
policy in China and debt problems in Europe and the United
States.

JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Reuters) – Striking workers in South
Africa’s petroleum sector are discussing a revised wage offer to
end a strike in its third week as labour strife spreads to the
vital mining sector, threatening supplies of coal and gold.

Hundreds of thousands of workers across the country have
walked off the job in recent weeks, or are threatening to do so,
seeking pay rises of double or triple the 5 percent inflation
rate in mid-year bargaining known as “strike season”.

JOHANNESBURG, July 26 (Reuters) – South African gold miners
will join thousands of workers already in a nationwide strike
this week, threatening supply of the precious metal at a time
when bullion is at record highs.

Hundreds of thousands of workers across the country have
downed tools in recent weeks, or are threatening to do so,
seeking raises double or triple the 5 percent inflation rate in
the mid-year bargaining session known as “strike season”.

JOHANNESBURG, July 18 (Reuters) – Employers in South
Africa’s fuel industry are meeting with unions on Monday in a
bid to end a week-long strike that has left hundreds of fuel
pumps dry and may cost Africa’s biggest economy billions of rand
in lost output.

Tens of thousands of workers in the fuel sector began
walking off the job last week, delaying deliveries and sparking
panic buying at pumps in the economic hub of Gauteng province.

JOHANNESBURG, July 15 (Reuters) – South African steel and
engineering firms reached a wage deal with the National Union of
Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) to end a two-week long
strike, a union official said on Friday, while a fuel sector
strike showed no signs of ending. Tens of thousands of steel workers downed tools nearly two weeks ago demanding a 13 percent wage rise -- almost three times the inflation rate and nearly double the employers' offer of 7 percent. The companies and NUMSA met late on Thursday to discuss a proposal meant to bring them closer. "There was an agreement reached last night," Lucio Trentini, operations director at the SEIFSA industry body, said. "The most important thing is that the agreement ends the two-week long strike in the industry." Workers are expected to start returning to work from Monday, and details of the settlement will be released next week, he added. Production and financial losses from the strike are expected to be substantial. Strikes spread this week as several sectors joined industrial action in the petrol industry that has raised concerns about fuel supplies in Africa's biggest economy. Tens of thousands of fuel workers began walking off the job on Monday, delaying deliveries and sparking panic buying at service stations in the economic hub of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg. Refineries are still operating and petrol is being delivered to most filling stations but a prolonged and widening strike could hurt the transport sector and impact economic growth. Economists said the cost of the strike could run into the billions of rand should it continue into next week. The Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union union said talks with employers were scheduled for Monday. The latest to join the wave of strikes were 2,000 workers from Pioneer Food Group's Sasko Grain unit, the Food and Allied Workers Union said on Friday. Unions and employers are locked in their mid-year bargaining session known as "strike season", with many labour groups seeking wage increases that far exceed inflation. Central bank and Treasury officials have said high wage increases threaten the outlook for inflation, interest rates and the long-term prospects for the economy. Possible strikes also loom in South Africa's platinum, coal and gold industries, threatening global supplies of the key commodities at a time when prices are red hot. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Ed Stoddard)

JOHANNESBURG, July 13 (Reuters) – Strikes are looming in
South Africa’s gold and platinum sectors which could threaten
global supplies at a time when commodity prices are red hot.

Africa’s largest economy is also grappling with spreading
strikes in its petroleum sector which could have an impact on
refinery production and domestic fuel supplies.

JOHANNESBURG, July 13 (Reuters) – Nationalisation of South
Africa’s mines needs to be debated and not dismissed, the head
of Africa’s top gold miner said on Wednesday as he warned that
such a move could destroy the country’s fiscal stability.

The comments by Mark Cutifani, the chief executive of
AngloGold Ashanti , are the latest from top miners on
the issue, underscoring boardroom concerns that talk of
nationalisation by radical elements in the ruling African
National Congress are making investors and shareholders nervous.

JOHANNESBURG, July 12 (Reuters) – South Africa’s steel and
engineering firms and their workers are evaluating a new wage
proposal meant to end a week-long strike, an industry body said
on Tuesday, while a strike in the fuel sector is unfolding.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA)
said thousands of workers went on strike last week seeking a 13
percent wage rise, almost three times the inflation rate.

JOHANNESBURG, June 27 (Reuters) – South African utility
Eskom said on Monday it had more than doubled its full-year
profit owing to higher tariffs and said it would meet power
demand during the peak winter period, despite tight supplies.

State-owned Eskom [ESCJ.UL], which supplies 95 percent of
South Africa’s power, said profit in the year to end-March rose
to 8.36 billion rand ($1.22 billion), up from a restated 3.62
billion the previous year.