Gold output in South Africa slumps by 17.7%

New official statistics released today (November 13th) have confirmed that South African gold production plunged by 17.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis in September.

Statistics South Africa (SSA), which disclosed the data on its website, also revealed that total mining production during the month fell by 3.5 per cent annually.

The new figures are the latest in a long line of production slumps in the country this year after an electricity crisis hit power supplier Eskom in January.

A number of outages were suffered - which resulted in all mines effectively being shut down for a total of five days - and the effects are ongoing, with power output still only standing at around 95 per cent.

As a result, total mining production for the quarter to September 30th is down by 7.1 per cent from the equivalent period last year, according to SSA.

However, if the situation continues it will provide a boost to anyone with a gold investment, as reduced supply could have an upward effect on gold prices.

South Africa was recently surpassed by China as the world's biggest producer of the yellow metal.

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