South African gold miners launched their first industry-wide strike in 18 years on Sunday to demand higher wages in the world's biggest bullion producer, the country's main mining union said. "I can say now that the strike is on," Gwede Mantashe, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), told Reuters. The union had said the strike would start across the country at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). "All the workers who were due to go on the 6 p.m. shift are out, all the four companies (involved in failed wage talks) have been affected." Around 100,000 gold miners represented by the NUM would remain on strike until a solution was found, he said. Despite improved offers from two companies, last-minute talks failed to yield a deal, according to an official from the Chamber of Mines, which negotiates on behalf of gold producers. South Africa's gold industry accounts for around 15 percent of global output, and the mining sector contributes about 8 percent to the nation's gross domestic product.
