CAPE TOWN (Commodity Online): Gold production in South Africa has witnessed a sharp decline in the first nine months of this year as compared to September last year due to a series of strikes and mine accidents.

According to an official data, gold production fell 9.3% in volume terms compared with September last year. Trading platform that even a 5 year old can trade. Join now

Meanwhile, the gold production is expected to decline further in the coming months as higher electricity prices in the country would compel small mining companies to shut down. Mining output fell 8.4% in the year to August.

The contribution of mining to the economy has steadily declined in the past few years, now making up 4.7% of total economic output compared with 6% late in 2005. Mineral products account for about half of SA's exports, while mining companies account for more than a third of the capital of the JSE.

In the second quarter, it rose 5.5% compared with the first quarter, when it shrank by a record 32.8%. Mining production contracted 7% in the third quarter of this year, seasonally adjusted and annualized.

The main causes of the plunge in output in September were strikes and mine accidents, which led to a 20% fall in the production of platinum group metals compared with output in the previous month. In the year to September, output of platinum, palladium, rhodium and iridium slumped nearly 40%.