New figures released today (January 15th) have confirmed that gold output fell by 8.7 percent on a year-on-year basis in South Africa over the course of November 2008.

Statistics South Africa, which announced the data on its website statssa.gov.za, also revealed that total mineral production in the country declined by 6.1 percent during the month.

The decrease is mainly being attributed to the crisis suffered last January by state-owned power utility Eskom, which saw mine production affected badly by massive outages.

Although a complete electricity grid collapse was averted, Eskom has only been able to supply around 90 to 95 percent power ever since as it attempts to return to full output.

However, the news will be welcomed by anyone with a gold investment, as lower production could lead to lower supplies, which would in turn drive up prices.

South Africa is currently the second-largest producer of gold in the world, having been overtaken by China in 2007.

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