South Africa's main mine workers union said on Friday separate wage talks with Exxaro Resources and Impala Platinum , the world's second-largest platinum producer, had deadlocked but strike action was not imminent.

In the case of Implats, the union said it will consult with its members for a further mandate while with Exxaro it said it will hold further talks at a later date with the government mediator.

Much of Exxaro's labour force signed a wage deal in early August that ended a week-long strike in South Africa's coal sector but its Grootgeluk, Tshikondeni, Leeupan and Inyanda operations were not included in that deal.

NUM said with Implats the main issue remained the minimum wage paid by the company. It said the miner was still currently offering annual wage increases of 8 to 10 percent for the next two years.

NUM has said it wants 14 percent increases across the board.

Wage settlements in South Africa's key mining sector, including gold and coal, have largely been in the 8 to 10 percent range this year, close to double the inflation rate, including at Implats' bigger rival Anglo American Platinum .

NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni said on Tuesday that he thought a deal was very close.

Implats produces about 1.8 million ounces of platinum a year or over a quarter of global supply and so markets keenly monitor any disruption to its operations.

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