KUMBA IRON OREFull-year earnings could slip 20%

Kumba Iron Ore warned yesterday that its full-year earnings would likely fall at least 20 percent, hit by a wildcat strike at its Sishen mine and lower export iron ore prices. The company, a unit of Anglo American, said it had so far lost about 2.6 million tons of finished product at Sishen, where output is still being hampered by low attendance. Intimidation at the mine was being reported even after the end of an illegal strike that led to the dismissal of about 200 employees, it said. Kumba, one of the world’s top 10 producers of iron ore and the largest in Africa, resumed operations at the mine on October 20 after they were halted by an illegal occupation. The company’s shares closed down 2.xx percent at R529.xx yesterday. – Reuters