I would have thought South Africa represented an important percentage of the world's annual gold production, and as such, given the travails of ESKOM, the South African utility, that would have suggested a bullish bias for gold investment.
In fact, South Africa represents only 4.1% of the world's annual gold production. With total 2018 Gold production of 3346.9 metric tonnes (per Gold Hub), here are the figures (per the US Geological Survey), all in metric tonnes (1 metric tonne = 1000 kilograms; 1 kilo = 35.2739619 ounces), by country:
China: 455
Australia: 270
Russia: 250
United States: 209
Canada: 170
Peru: 150
South Africa: 140
Mexico: 125
Uzbekistan: 100
Indonesia: 100
What is my surprise? I would have expected that the problems faced by ESKOM would ultimately impact the Gold market, with the possibility of ongoing blackouts. In fact, South Africa represents only 4.1% of the world's Gold Production!
Well, lets contrast that with Platinum, where South Africa represents more than 70% of the world's annual Platinum production... and thus real exposure to ESKOM.
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