(Adds Angloplat, NUM, Solidarity quotes, analyst) By James Macharia JOHANNESBURG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Almost a quarter of a million workers will strike on Dec. 4 in a one-day protest against deaths in South Africa's mines, bringing to a halt production in the world's biggest producer of gold and platinum. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Tuesday it had been given the green-light by authorities for a national strike by about 240,000 workers that would also be the first such protest on safety. More than 180 workers have been killed this year in mine accidents. "We are going on strike on Dec. 4. We have been given the go-ahead," NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka told Reuters. In the line of fire will be gold producers AngloGold Ashanti <ANGJ.J>, Gold Fields <GFIJ.J>, and Harmony <HARJ.J>, platinum producers Anglo Platinum <AMSJ.J> and rival Impala Platinum <IMPJ.J>, all of which have had accidents or deaths at their mines in recent weeks. Others are coal producers Anglo American <AAL.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, Exxaro <EXXJ.J> and Sasol <SOLJ.J>. The permit for the strike was granted by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) after it met the NUM and the Chamber of Mines (CoM), an umbrella body that represents South Africa's big mining companies. Analysts said the long-anticipated stoppage could lead to losses that some companies may be unable to make up. Some firms have been unable to catch up on losses during safety-related shutdowns as the government has, unlike in the past, routinely shut mines in a bid to clamp down on the spate of mine deaths. Metals prices could jump on supply concerns, analysts said. Platinum <XPT=> hit a high of $1,475 an ounce before falling to $1,464/1,469, from $1,467/1,472 on Monday. Traders think prices will be firmly underpinned by falling supplies from South Africa due to the strike. "It's definitely going to have an impact ... They clearly do not have as much stockpiled as may be expected," said Stephen Rolofse, a fund manager at Sanlam Investment Management. "Obviously, a company like Angloplat will be hit maybe more than others as it has had some safety-related closures already." The world's top platinum producer, Angloplat, majority-owned by Anglo, which produces 40 percent of the world's supplies of the metal, has already cut its output forecast for this year, partly due to losses anticipated during the strike. LOSSES Simon Tebele, Angloplat's spokesman said: "We cannot say anything now about any possible output losses as we are not sure how many will stay away on that day, we shall have a better picture towards the end of that day or a day after the strike." Platinum authority Johnson Matthey <JMAT.L> expects South Africa to produce 5.220 million ounces of refined platinum this year, while the country produced 8.845 million ounces of gold in 2006, according to the CoM, which said mining accounts for 18 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. Analysts said a blanket strike was unfair to some companies. "The companies that have had a good safety record will also suffer in the strike," a Johannesburg-based analyst said. Frans Barker, head negotiator for the CoM, declined to give an estimate of the expected fall of output during the strike. The strike would be on "no work, no pay" terms, he added. "We don't want to talk about monetary losses. We're talking about lives and not rands and cents," Barker said. Barker said the parties reiterated their commitment to reach an existing target of reducing mine deaths by 20 percent a year. The traditionally white Solidarity trade union said its members would not join the NUM strike. "We are lobbying to have companies be required to disclose all fatalities to the stock exchange news wire, and want parliament to ratify the International Labour Organisation's safety standards on mining," said spokesman Reint Dykema. Mine workers have been killed in rock-falls, explosions or buried underground during earth tremors in what the union has called a "genocide". Around 200 workers died in mines last year. (Reporting by James Macharia; Editing by Chris Johnson)
