Johannesburg/London - The sliding rand is a double-edged sword for mining companies in South Africa, with cost inflation, wage claims and potential labour unrest outweighing the gains that exporters traditionally derive from domestic currency weakness.
The drop in the rand, near 13-year lows against the dollar, should benefit diversified mining giants such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Glencore as well as domestic companies such as gold producers Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti.