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Johannesburg - SA's gold production fell 5.8% year on year (y/y) in May after a 1.5% y/y increase in production in April, Statistics SA said on Thursday.
On a monthly basis, gold output dropped a seasonally adjusted 3.6% during May.
SA was the world's largest gold producer for decades up until 2006, but it has been overtaken by the US and China as the largest producers.
Dwindling grades, deeper mining and stoppages for safety-related reasons have hit the sector in recent years. The sector is also facing the possibility of labour action as wage negotiations with the three trade unions representing its employees deadlocked on Wednesday.
This all comes amid the highest gold price in history. Gold reached $1 594.40/oz in trade on Thursday. The rand-per-kilogram price was R350 085 rand by mid-afternoon.
Gold production in the first quarter of this year grew 3.4% compared with the same period a year ago, but fell 9.3% from the last quarter of last year, said the Chamber of Mines earlier this month.
According to the chamber, gold output in the first three months of 2011 was 44 682.7 kilograms.
Total gold production for 2010 was 191 402.3 kilograms.