Update March

South Africa has fallen to fourth spot in gold production ,behind China Australia and America.
The electricty shortage in 2008 and the rising cost of production as our mines become older and deeper also weighed upon production.
Then there is a general policy in South Africa to mine the lower grade ore bodies when the price of gold rises and this is now the case.When the price falls again then the better ore bodies are mined,this is done to give continuity to mining as it is cheaper than   to close mines every time the price falls. 

There is expected to be a shortage in supplies of platinum in particular and in all PGMs in general during this year as the curtaling of production kicks in.The situation will probably only ease in a couple of years time as there is likely to be an increasing demand as the world recovers from the recession. 

Go to the sashare2010 blogspot for twice monthly updates.