Gold production falls further in South Africa

Terence Goodlace, head of Gold Fields' South African operations, announced earlier this week that gold output will be down by 20 per cent in the March quarter.

He said that the decline is mostly due to unreliable power supplies, with large areas of Johannesburg left without power for hours on Monday (March 17th) after four generators were shut down, according to Miningmx.

Several Gold Fields mine shafts have already been downsized or closed since January.

Many traders have said they are concerned that matters will not improve as South Africa moves towards winter.

"People are worrying power might be cut off to the mines and if we haven't got power, that is not good," one Johannesburg trader told Business Day.

South Africa was the world's largest gold producer until last year when it was surpassed by China. Production has been steadily falling since 2003 due to an increased depth of mining, among other factors, leading to rising costs, according to MBendi. This is one factor that may have helped to push gold prices to record highs in recent times.

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