Biggest fall in SA gold since Boer War by Allan Seccombe, 15 Jan 2009
[miningmx.com] -- SOUTH Africa has dropped into third place of the world’s gold producers after the biggest drop in bullion ouput since the Boer War in 1901, London-based precious metals consultancy GFMS said on Thursday.
This is a poor showing for the country that dominated gold production for a century, but it has seen output taper off as mines became deeper and more expensive and dangerous to operate. In 2008, South African mines had to contend with a week-long shut down because of electricity shortages in January and then curtail power consumption by 10%, which lowered production at some companies.
South Africa is now number three behind China and the United States, GFMS said in its Gold Survey 2008, without giving figures. China claimed the number one spot in 2007 when its production rose to 276 tonnes against South Africa’s eight percent fall to 272 tonnes.
“South Africa faced a crushing year, with production plummeting by an estimated 14%, the sharpest percentage fall since 1901 when the country was still embroiled in the Second Boer War,” the consultancy said.
Based on figures from the South African Chamber of Mines website, the largest fall came between 1899 and 1900 when gold output fell 90% to 10.8 tonnes from 113.15 tonnes. It then dropped to eight tonnes in 1901 before rocketing back to 53.44 tonnes a year later.
The Boer War ran from October 1899 to May 1902 between Britain and two Boer republics, with gold, to some degree, lying at the heart of tensions.
South Africa’s production is now at its lowest in 100 years, GFMs said, basing its assessment on preliminary 2008 figures and its archives. South Africa produced 1,000 tonnes of gold at its peak in 1970 and it has been declining ever since.
China has boosted its gold production because of increased foreign investment there, while South Africa has experienced a decline because of cost pressures and a vigorous government approach to safety, which entails shafts being temporarily shut after fatal accidents.
Overall, gold production last year from mines around the world fell to its lowest level since 1995 because of technical issues, skill shortages, power constraints and a weakening global economy that made financing difficult.
China, however, boosted production three percent and new mines came into production in Russia and Mexico, which should give a temporary boost to supplies. miningmx.com |
