The world’s largest diamond miner, De Beers, on Friday said it expects the outlook for the global rough diamond market for the second half of 2006 to be difficult. "It has been a testing time over the past six months," De Beers chairperson Nicky Oppenheimer said during a results teleconference.

Lafarge South Africa on Friday signed a R1,1-billion empowerment deal with consortium Sinako that may result in 26% of its quarries and 10% of its manufacturing businesses in South Africa being sold. Lafarge Mining incorporates aggregates and limestone, and Lafarge Industries incorporates cement, gypsum-plasterboard and ready mix concrete manufacturing.

The strike by trade union Solidarity’s members at petrochemicals group Sasol is set to enter a second day after a meeting held with the company did not lead to any resolution of the wage dispute and other issues, Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said on Tuesday.

South African petrochemicals group Sasol on Thursday announced that the R1,45-billion Tshwarisano black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction has been successfully concluded. In terms of the agreement, Tshwarisano acquired a 25% shareholding in Sasol’s South African liquid-fuels business housed in Sasol Oil.

Trade union Solidarity and resources company Kumba Resources started the first day of their annual wage negotiations with Kumba tabling an offer of 4%, while Solidarity demanded an increase of 12%, the union said on Tuesday. "Kumba’s offer to workers at the bottom levels puts them under the breadline in South Africa," Solidarity said.

As expected, South Africa’s third largest gold producer Harmony Gold reported its eleventh consecutive quarterly headline loss due to the Christmas break, a reduction in grades and an increase in costs. For the March quarter, Harmony reported a headline loss of 50 cents per share from a loss of 75 cents in the December quarter.