September 2, 2010 3:54 PM EDT
South Africa's gold output during the second quarter of this year rose 12.6 percent compared to production of the metal in the first quarter, the country's Chamber of Mines said on Thursday.
Gold output rose to 49,444.5 kg compared with the 43,927.8 kg produced in the first quarter, it said in a statement.
On a year-on-year basis, gold production was down by 2 percent in the quarter to the end of June.
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South Africa's gold production has been dwindling, and fell by 5.8 percent in 2009, making the country the fourth-biggest producer after China, Australia and the U.S.
The country was the world's largest gold producer for most of the last century up until 2006, but dwindling grades and stoppages of mines for safety-related reasons as the companies plunge deeper in search of gold have hit the sector.
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