The gold mining industry in South Africa is in a severe crisis and can’t reach the growth of gold mining. As it became known recently, in January of the current 2019 a decrease in gold production was recorded in comparison with January 2018.

As previously reported, in South Africa there is a tendency towards a decrease in gold production. The statistical bureau of South Africa published data, from which it follows that in January 2019, the precious metal was mined by -22.5% compared with January 2018. In turn, in January 2018, production fell by -7.7% compared with January 2017. However, a serious decline in gold production occurred in December 2018, when the decline was -31%.

The share of gold production in the total mining industry of South Africa again decreased by-3.1%. Mining of other minerals in January also showed a decline. For example, diamond mining fell by -37%, and iron ore was mined by -28.7%. However, nickel showed an increase in mining by + 21.4%, metals of the platinum group increased by + 29.1%, and copper growth amounted to + 40.8%. But in general, the mining industry in South Africa showed a decline of -3.3% in January 2019. The statistical office of the country does not publish exact figures for mining, but indicates only percentage changes over a certain period of time.

As before, the gold mining industry in South Africa is in a difficult situation. Production conditions continue to deteriorate, there is a decrease in the content of precious metal in the ore, while increasing production costs. Workers who are also in harsh conditions regularly go on strike. All of these factors adversely affect the production performance of the extractive industry in South Africa.