South Africa's gold industry has been the principal focus of black economic empowerment, resulting in a changing ownership structure. With the increase in the price of gold and the worldwide economic slowdown, investment in gold has increased, with investors seeking safe haven investments. Demand for gold also increased in 2009, particularly from India and China.
Up until a few years back South Africa was the world's largest gold producer. China surpassed South Africa as the world’s largest producer in 2007. China continues to increase gold production and remained the leading gold-producing nation in 2009, followed by Australia, South Africa, and the United States. According to the US Geological Survey, South Africa produced 210 metric tons of gold in 2009.
South Africa is estimated, by US Geological Survey, to have 6000 metric tons of gold reserves. 95% of South Africa's gold mines are underground operations, reaching depths of over 3.8 km. Coupled with declining grades, increased depth of mining and a slide in the gold price, costs have begun to rise, resulting in the steady fall in production. The future of the gold industry in South Africa therefore depends on increased productivity.
South Africa's enormous gold ore reserves represent a substantial part of the world’s reserves. The main gold producing area is concentrated on the Archaean Witwatersrand Basin. The Witwatersrand basin, which has been mined for more than 100 years and has produced more than 41 000 t of gold, remains the greatest unmined source of gold in the world. Major new projects, new technology, new approaches to the organisation of work, better labour relations and some commercial innovations are starting to reshape this industry.
Unlike most other gold deposits in the world, the Witwatersrand ("Wits") is a gold placer deposit, with gold being hosted by conglomerates and grits. The Wits sedimentary basin is massive and stretches through an arc of approximately 400km across the Free State, North West and Gauteng Provinces. The gold bearing conglomerates or reefs are generally tabular with varying dips. Most of the Wits basin is covered by later stage sediments of the Ventersdorp and Karoo groups, with the Wits outcropping in Johannesburg, which started the Wits gold rush over a hundred years ago and resulted in formation of the city of Johannesburg..
South Africa does have other smaller gold producers outside of the Witwatersrand, in the form of Archaean greenstone belts. The main gold producing greenstone belts are the Barberton Greenstone Belt and the Kraaipan greenstone belt. The Barberton greenstone belt is situated in the Mpumalanga province, just north of Swaziland. The Kraaipan belt is located west of Johannesburg, near Kuruman. Other smaller belts exist in the Northern Province, but have been worked sporadically.
Goldfield’s South Deep mine is situated in the districts of Westonaria and Vanderbijlpark in the Gauteng Province. At this project the South shaft has been recommissioned, with the ore body remodelled for the next 30 years. This project is on track for build up to full production by the end of 2014.
Harmony Gold hopes to complete the expansion at its Doornkop South Reef mine by 2015. Doornkop produced 64 000 oz of gold in the 2009 financial year, but is expected to produce 250 000 oz pa of gold at full production.
AngloGold Ashanti is a leading global producer of gold, with operations in South Africa at West Wits and Vaal River. Anglogold produced 4.98 million ounces of gold in 2008. AngloGold Ashanti’s seven mining operations in South Africa are grouped into the West Wits and Vaal River regions. Together with the Navachab mine in Namibia, these operations form part of AngloGold Ashanti’s Southern African Division. These deep-level operations employ in the region of 37,000 people and produced 2.1 million ounces of gold, equivalent to 42% of the group’s production, in 2008.
Gold Fields is one of the world’s largest unhedged producers of gold, with operations at Driefontein, Kloof, Beatrix and South Deep. Goldfields hopes to increase production at South Deep to 300,000 ounces during 2010.
DRDGold is a medium-sized, unhedged gold producer, the 4th largest in South Africa. In 2009, DRDGold produced 247 690 ounces and declared mineral resources of 56.4 million ounces and ore reserves of 6.0 million ounces.
Harmony is the 5th largest gold producer in the world It’s operations are located primarily on the Witwatersrand Basin, encompassing ten underground operations, an open-pit mine and surface operations that span four provinces, namely Gauteng, North West Province, Mpumalanga and the Free State. Harmony reported ore reserves of 48.2 million ounces and mineral resources of 215.7 million ounces in June 2009. African Rainbow Minerals Limited (ARM) is a leading diversified South African mining company which holds a significant interest in the gold mining sector through its shareholding in Harmony.
