South Africa continues to hold the world’s largest reserves of gold after more than 126 years of mining; however, the country’s gold output has decreased in recent years. The share prices of South African gold companies have failed to increase in line with the growth of the gold price and the country’s gold stocks are believed to be undervalued.
Further, since the second half of 2012, South Africa’s mining industry has been experiencing widespread industrial action, sparked by the August 2012 Marikana tragedy, in which 34 striking platinum miners were killed in a standoff with police. The incident damaged South Africa’s reputation as a world-class mining investment destination and, in the wake of the tragedy, labour discontent spread to various other mining sectors. The impact of labour unrest on the gold mining industry was significant, with several gold mining companies being forced to halt operations as a result of widespread wildcat strikes.
Nonetheless, South African Chamber of Mines president and Anglo American CEO-designate Mark Cutifani has indicated that negative sentiment regarding South Africa has been “significantly overblown”. He contends that “the fundamentals are sound in South Africa . . . if we work together and manage the perception of how we’re dealing with the issues, it will get us back on track for people to be comfortable to invest in the country for the future”.
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