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Monday, 22nd January 2007 (3233 views)

South Africa's Chamber of Mines has registered its concerns over the potential for power outages, accidents and maintenance problems to seriously harm gold mining operations over the coming year.

Rolling power outages occurred across South Africa last week after generation capacity was cut due to technical problems, affecting operations at several gold mines including one belonging to AngloGold Ashanti.

A platinum firm, Impala, lost half a day of production due to the outages on Thursday which created a loss of around 30,000 tonnes of the metal.

It is believed that the problem could become a common occurrence in the near future, as Chamber of Mines assistant adviser for techno-economics Dick Kruger commented that the sector could be in for a "bumpy ride".

Mining Weekly reports that the Chamber of Mines has met with Eskom, the state power supplier, over the future of the mining industry, with the outcome being a warning for the industry to expect more outages over the months ahead.

However, Mr Gilmour insisted that he believes Eskom has the ability to meet South Africa's long-term energy needs, but added: "The key question is how long this will carry on."

Meanwhile, Harmony Gold said it had not been affected but it was "naturally concerned".

 

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