South Africa's gold producers stay in the shallows as prices surge
Record gold prices are pushing South Africa's beleaguered mining industry to find new ways to recover the metal that sidestep the costly deep-shaft mining of old, industry executives said.
But with no boom in new mine development expected, they're unlikely to add enough production any time soon to significantly lift the stubbornly low output of a country that for more than a century was the world's biggest gold producer.
South Africa's gold exploration has dropped nearly 90% from the 1990s, with spending on mineral exploration declining to just $43-million in 2025 from $900-million in 2006, according to Statistics South Africa.
Its gold production has plummeted to 90 metric tons annually from a 1970 peak of 1 000 t on dwindling economically viable reserves, labour unrest, and the geologically taxing conditions in the world's deepest mines.
Gold prices meanwhile have surged, climbing about 60% in 2025 to a series of all-time highs on trade tensions, central bank buying and expectations of US rate cuts. But rising prices are yet to entice South African miners to invest significantly in new output.
GOLD PRODUCERS FAVOUR SHALLOWER, OR SURFACE, PROJECTS
As prices climb, diversified miner Sibanye-Stillwater is prioritising shallow, high-margin projects to boost its gold output. Its plans centre on Burnstone, a development project it says will be a low-cost, long-life operation.
It is also pursuing growth opportunities with its 50%-owned DRDGold, which recovers gold from waste dumps, CEO Richard Stewart said on a February 20 results call.
Harmony Gold, South Africa's biggest gold producer, is looking to potentially recover 5.7 million ounces through waste retreatment, CEO Beyers Nel told analysts on March 11.
Underground mining expansion remains unlikely for Harmony.
"Given the lead time it takes to develop into an area, you will possibly only start mining there in about two to three years' time," FD Boipelo Lekubo told Reuters. "Who knows what the gold price will be then?"
NEW MINE IN ICONIC GOLD BASIN
West Wits Mining launched South Africa's first new underground mine in 15 years last October. The Qala Shallows mine taps into the Witwatersrand basin, reputed to have produced about half of all the gold ever mined in the world.
The mine is shallower than more established shafts and has access to existing infrastructure, cutting capital costs. It is also mechanised, reducing labour costs, and uses hydropower to extract ore, instead of the more expensive traditional compressed air.
"We actually got a very, very economical project, given the new gold prices," West Wits Mining CEO Rudi Deysel told Reuters during a tour of the mine.
The company plans an initial annual output of 70 000 oz and envisions scaling to 200 000 oz in future phases.
But in the short term, not much change is expected in South African output. Next year the Minerals Council of South Africa expects gold production to remain at around 90 metric tons - not far from levels at which it has bumped along for the last five years.
