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Holland: unreformed, SA gold industry will be gone by 2017

28 Nov 2012

After lowering their production forecast for this year by 200,000oz due to wildcat strikes, a fire and operational problems, Gold Fields executives warned the gold industry in South Africa will no longer exist in five years if conditions stay the same, BDLive reports.

The company has just completed a "strategic portfolio review", which recommends a "critical review of declining and/or low-margin assets".

At less than R498,000/kg, gold price is the highest it has been, but South African gold producers are losing out on the boom as production ramps up after weeks of strikes. Gold companies are facing soaring costs and stagnant, if not falling, productivity levels. Gold Fields said it had lost 145,000oz due to the strikes. The company has come under pressure from some shareholders to separate its international assets from those in South Africa.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland said it was critical that gold miners stepped up productivity or job losses and shaft closures would become a reality, BDLive says.

Read the full article on http://www.bdlive.co.za