French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in South Africa for talks with President Thabo Mbeki with the power crisis believed to be on the agenda.

Mr Mbeki is thought to be seeking co-operation from France as well as an increase in investment in the transport, energy, automotive and aeronautical sectors.

Accompanying Mr Sarkozy is Anne Lauvergeon, Chairman of Areva, the French nuclear firm which is bidding for a contract to build 12 power plants in South Africa.

Meanwhile an urgent meeting has been called to discuss potential job losses in the mining industry.

Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica will be joined by members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity, the United Association of South Africa, the Chamber of Mines (CoM) and Eskom, Mining Weekly reports.

According to Jabu Maphalala, Deputy Communications Adviser of CoM, the meeting was not to decide how many jobs would be cut but to assess the impact of the power crisis so far.

"The meeting is about highlighting and briefing Eskom and everybody else of the impacts," he said.

Mr Maphalala wants the meeting to "identify the potential impacts on job losses, impacts on production issues and impacts on the mining industry's economic contribution".

Sources:

State, mining industry to hold urgent meeting over retrenchments, 27/02/08
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=127945

Sarkozy arrives in South Africa for energy talks, 28/02/08
http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=africa&item=080228075142.x04u103m.php

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