Swiss-based Glencore Xstrata has dismissed 1,000 workers who staged wildcat strikers at its South African chrome operations last week, the firm said Monday, amid continuing tensions between rival unions in the key mining sector. "These thousand people have been dismissed Friday and over the weekend. They have until tomorrow, Tuesday, to appeal their dismissal," spokesman Christopher Tsatsawane told AFP. Workers downed tools last Tuesday on the Helena, Magareng and Thorncliffe sites in the northern province of Limpopo.

PERTH (Reuters) - Glencore Xstrata <GLEN.L> is stopping work on a planned 35 million tonnes per annum Australian coal export terminal as a result of poor market conditions, making it likely it will also scrap an associated coal mine. The decision to halt work on the Balaclava Island export terminal in eastern Australia was made following a review of the project after Xstrata's merger with Glencore.

By Clara Ferreira-Marques LONDON (Reuters) - China's antitrust authorities removed the last obstacle to Glencore's <GLEN.L> $30 billion (19 billion pounds) takeover of miner Xstrata on Tuesday after the commodities trader agreed to sell a $5.2 billion mining project to ease its grip on copper. Xstrata's Las Bambas mine in Peru had been expected to be sacrificed to secure the approval of China's Ministry of Commerce, but Glencore also agreed 8-year commitments covering the supply of copper, zinc and lead to China.

A long-awaited merger between Swiss commodities trader Glencore with mining giant Xstrata has won a green light from China's regulator, clearing a key final hurdle, Glencore announced Tuesday. Glencore said in a statement that Beijing had given its backing on condition that after the merger the group sells its interest in the Las Bambas copper mine project in Peru to Chinese-approved players by the end of September 2014.