South Africa’s total gold production increased by 9% to 56 933 kg in the second quarter of 2008, when compared with the first quarter of this year, however, year-on-year, gold production was down by 10,4%.
The South African Chamber of Mines said the lower gold production illustrated the continued impact that the electricity supply curtailment had on the sector. In the first quarter of the year, production had fallen by 16,8%, so year-on-year production decline only started slowing in the second quarter.
The chamber stated that production fcrusher construction wasteor its gold-mining members increased by 7,7% to 47 329,8 kg in the second quarter of this year, when compared with the first quarter. The 8% recovery in tons milled more than offset the 0,3% decline in the average grade, which helped increase production on ainstallation erection contractor of a stone crusher quarterly basis.
On a year-on-year basis, the chamber’s members production fell by 12,9% in the second quarter of 2008, as the large increase in the use of surface low-grade dumps increased in the diluticrushed lime stone washing equipmenton rate through the mills, with the result that the average recovered plunged by 14,3% in that quarter.
The chamber stated that the decline in gold production was owing to the national electricity emergency, which effectively closed the gold mining industry for six days at the beginning of this year. The gold mining sector had its electricity supply curtailed to 90% of normal use.
By March this year, some mines were able to get supply up to 95%, but a blanket increase did not occur.
The chamber stated that since the start of the electricity emergency, State-owned power utility Eksom’s 138 large industrial customers have borne the brunt of the need for electricity saving in the economy, to the extent that the electricity supply curtailment to these users bailed the country out of a potentially serious situation.
The mining industry, however, was seriously concerned about the fact that few other sectors had achieved much savings, and that the burden still remained on the mining sector, and other large industrial customers.
The chamber said that given the significant export earnings and employment intensity of mining, it was clear that this situation could not continue indefinitely.