Friday, March 29, 2024

SA Loses African Gold Crown To Ghana

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By Felix Njini

South Africa’s struggling gold industry has suffered yet another humiliation, losing its status as continent leader to Ghana.

The country that led global gold production for a century and extracted about half the bullion ever mined is now Africa’s second-largest gold producer. Output is shrinking as operators capitulate to stubbornly high costs, regular strikes and the geological challenges of tapping the world’s deepest mines.

Meanwhile, Ghana, a country whose gold mining industry dates back to the 19th century, is benefiting from lower-cost mines, friendlier policies and new development projects.

The difficulties facing South African gold mines mean output is contracting even though it’s got the world’s second-largest reserves of the metal, according to estimates from the US Geological Survey.

In Ghana, gold output jumped 12% in 2018, according to data from the Ghana Chamber of Mines. Small producers account for the largest share of the total, although Ghana also hosts some of the world’s biggest gold miners, including No. 1 producer Newmont Goldcorp. Although Newmont is exploring in Ethiopia, Ghana is the only place in Africa where it operates…Read more>>

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