The strengthening of the rand against the dollar in the first quarter of the year wreaked havoc with the profits of the gold division within Sibanye Gold at a time when it was raising almost the equivalent of its market capitalisation to buy a US-based palladium miner. Sibanye, the largest producer of South African gold and a rising force in the global platinum group metal (PGM) industry, posted production numbers for its March quarter, showing operating profit at its gold division tumbled to R967m from R2.5bn in the year-earlier period. The received gold price during the March quarter fell by 14% to R515,998/kg for the March compared with in the year-earlier period. The all-in sustaining cost grew to R493,872/kg from R454,282/kg before. The firming of the rand against the dollar by 16% during the quarter combined with a 9% decline in gold output to 330,100oz due to the closure of the Cooke 4 shaft eroded profits for the company, which will in the coming weeks issue shares to raise ...
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