SA gold output falls 12.3% yr/yr in June

South Africa’s gold output for June fell 12.3% when compared to the same period last year, while overall mineral production fell 5.4%, due to a power crisis in January.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - 

South African gold output fell 12.3 percent in volume terms, while overall mineral production fell 6.3 percent in June compared to the same month in the previous year, official data showed on Thursday.

Production of non-gold minerals declined by 5.4 percent, Statistics South Africa said on its website www.statssa.gov.za

South African mine output has fallen after state-owned power utility Eskom [ESCJ.UL] suffered a near collapse in the electricity grid in January, which led to a five-day country-wide mine shutdown.

Eskom has since supplied around 90 to 95 percent power to mines in the country, the world's biggest source of platinum and the second-ranked gold producer. (Reporting by James Macharia)

(c) Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

SUBSCRIBE to Mineweb.com's free daily newsletter now.

Print story      Email story      Subscribe to free newsletter

Back