South African Gold Production Declined 2% in Second Quarter, Chamber Says

Gold production in South Africa, the fourth-largest producer of the precious metal, fell 2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the Chamber of Mines of South Africa said.

Output declined to 1.59 million ounces, from 1.62 million ounces a year earlier, the industry group said in an e-mailed statement today. Compared with the previous quarter, production climbed 13 percent, it said.

South African gold output fell 5.8 percent last year, making the nation the largest producer after China, Australia and the U.S., the Chamber said on March 12. South Africa was the world’s largest producer for much of the twentieth century.

Last year the industry earned about 48.7 billion rand ($6.6 billion) from sales of gold, making the metal the country’s second-largest export after platinum group metals. The chamber represents producers including AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Gold Fields Ltd. and Harmony Gold Mining Ltd.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alastair Reed in Johannesburg at areed12@bloomberg.net

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