JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Striking South African gold miners have signed a pay deal to end months of often violent labour unrest that has cost the economy at least $1.2 billion, the country’s main mining union and mine owners said Thursday. “The worst in the gold sector is over,” National Union of Mineworkers spokesman Lesiba Seshoka told AFP. “Members have accepted a new pay structure.” The Chamber of Mines’ offer, coupled with a package already on the table, will see miners get a wage increase of between 11 and 20.8 percent, depending on their role. The violent work stoppages have halted production at numerous mines in the country’s vital sector, with strikers spurred on by a wage increase of up to 22 percent won by Lonmin platinum miners in August.