Bloomberg reports that Sibanye-Stillwater says a double-digit electricity price increase undermines the viability of SA’s gold industry.  The power regulator on Thursday approved an effective 13.8% hike in tariffs by state-owned power utility Eskom.  

That was higher than the 9% increase planned for by Sibanye, indicated James Wellsted, a spokesperson for SA’s biggest gold producer.  “These kind of increases, well above inflation, pose a risk to the sustainability of the industry and to job creation,” Wellsted stated.  Sibanye is already considering cutting more than 6,000 jobs at unprofitable gold shafts amid a four-month wage strike by thousands of workers.  The new electricity charges will accelerate job losses at “energy-intensive mines”, according to the Minerals Council SA, which represents most producers.  Gold output in SA, once the world’s top supplier, plunged 31% in December, the biggest decline in six years.  Producers are struggling to contain costs at the world’s deepest mines.

• Read the full original of Felix Njini’s report on the above at BusinessLive

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