South African gold mining faces terminal woes
Monday, December 17, 2018
Significance
The disruption at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold mines reflects wider turmoil in the gold mining sector, including a 13th consecutive month of production decline in October. Meanwhile, electricity prices, wage demands and strikes are increasing.
Impacts
- Gold mining job losses are unlikely to be adequately absorbed by other sectors due to use of new technology and stagnant national growth.
- Each gold mining job supports over five dependents, meaning near-term job losses could provoke increased social strife ahead of 2019 polls.
- While short-term job losses may have a muted impact on annual growth, 100,000 job losses over the next decade will prove more debilitating.