Sept 17 (Reuters) - South African coal miner Seriti Resources plans to cut 1,241 jobs to contain costs due to lower prices and persistent rail bottlenecks, the company said on Tuesday, a move the country's biggest mineworker union said it would fight.

Privately-owned Seriti is a major coal supplier to South Africa's thermal power stations and also exports some of its output.

The planned job cuts would impact workers at Middleburg mines and Klipspruit South-East pit, Seriti said in response to questions from Reuters. Both operations, which employed a combined 5,212 workers as of March 2024, were acquired from South32 (S32.AX) , opens new tab in 2021.

The mines "are not currently commercially sustainable and require material restructuring to improve unit costs and the prospects of future sustainability".

"These mines continue to be adversely impacted by, amongst others, Transnet under-performance and general market volatility," Seriti said.

Coal prices have fallen off record highs above $450 per metric ton reached in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to current levels around $100.

South Africa's freight rail operator Transnet continues to struggle to provide adequate services due to shortages of locomotives and spares as well as cable theft and vandalism of its infrastructure, impacting coal exporters such as Seriti.

The company said it had on Monday initiated consultations with labour unions under South Africa's Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), a statutory body which mediates and certifies outcomes of labour disputes.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said it would fight the latest round of job cuts at Seriti.

"The NUM will be embarking on a massive mobilization to try and stop Seriti Resources from undermining unions by retrenching employees willy-nilly," the union said in a statement.

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https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/safrican-coal-miner-seriti-plans-1200-job-cuts-2024-09-17/