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* Power crisis at state-owned Eskom damaging economy
* Miners across the industry hit
* Energy-intensive deep mines forced to halt production
(Adds detail on impact, statement from energy ministry)
By Helen Reid
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Mines across South Africa
shut down on Tuesday after flash flooding triggered the most
severe power blackouts in more than a decade, threatening a key
export sector in a further blow to the country's already slowing
economy.
Heavy rains across parts of South Africa have submerged
entire neighbourhoods, leading to evacuations and aggravating
problems at state-owned utility Eskom, which has been struggling
to keep the lights on since 2008.
Harmony Gold, Impala Platinum and
Sibanye-Stillwater all said they had been forced to cut
production since Monday because of power shortages.
"There are very few underground mines that operated
overnight and will be operating normally today," said a
spokesman for the Minerals Council industry body.
The mining industry contributed 351 billion rand ($24
billion) to the South African economy in 2018, the Minerals
Council says, equating to about 7% of gross domestic product
(GDP).
Eskom said on Tuesday that it plans more load-shedding,
referring to intentional power cuts, having cut up to 6,000
megawatts (MW) from the national grid on Monday after flooding
triggered failures at its Medupi coal-fired plant.
The company's operations chief Jan Oberholzer told the eNCA
news channel that the crisis was "manageable".
President Cyril Ramaphosa cut short a state visit to Egypt
to meet Eskom officials, local news agency EWN said on Tuesday.
The presidency did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
"The ongoing load shedding is devastating," Ramaphosa said
in a statement earlier on Tuesday. "The energy challenges in
this country will not be resolved overnight."
South Africa's cash-strapped state-owned companies have been
a major headache for the president as he seeks to reverse years
of economic stagnation.
South African Airways was placed in bankruptcy protection
last week and an independent administrator was appointed to run
the state's passenger rail company on Monday.
But loss-making Eskom, which generates more than 90% of the
country's power, is the "most serious risk" to the economy, the
Treasury says. This is largely because of its 500 billion rand
of debt, mostly government-backed.
Credit rating agency Moody's has said Eskom's troubles
endanger South Africa's only surviving investment-grade rating.
SHUTDOWNS
Energy minister Gwede Mantashe is considering short and
medium-term interventions, such as pushing forward approval for
new power-generation projects, to tackle the energy and
electricity challenges, the ministry said in a statement.
But a ministry spokesman said that any measures would
require approval from the electricity regulator, and there was
not yet a timeframe for when the measures would be implemented.
Harmony Gold, meanwhile, called off its underground shifts,
saying they would resume as soon as Eskom could provide
assurances the power supply would be more reliable.
Impala Platinum stopped production at its Rustenberg and
Marula mines after it was left functioning at 20-30% of normal
power.
"We certainly can't risk any attempt at production with this
level of power," a spokesman said.
The platinum miner later said that losses had so far
amounted to 120 million rand.
Anglo American said its operations had been
affected but gave no further details. It mines coal, diamonds,
iron ore and platinum in South Africa through its De Beers,
Kumba Iron Ore and Anglo American Platinum
businesses.
Sibanye-Stillwater shut all its deep-level mines on
Monday but was aiming to send miners back underground for the
afternoon shift at 1400 GMT on Tuesday.
A Gold Fields spokesman said the impact on its
South Deep mine was limited, though prolonged power cuts would
present challenges.
Petra Diamonds said on Monday it was in the process
of halting operations at its Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein
mines in South Africa after Eskom asked the miner to reduce its
electricity load.
AngloGold Ashanti's Mponeng gold mine was operating
on Tuesday, with the company describing the impact of power
restrictions on its production as "minimal".
South32's two aluminium smelters, Hillside and
Mozal, have had planned power outages in accordance with
agreements with Eskom, a spokeswoman said, adding that the
effect on output would only be visible in January.
($1 = 14.7075 rand)
(Additional reporting by Alexander Winning
Writing by Tim Cocks and Joe Bavier
Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman)
