Newcrest's gold production dropped to 614,715 ounces in the quarter ended in December, from 615,498 ounces in the three months immediately prior and 620,691 ounces a year ago.
The company has spent at least $2.5 billion on the project, whose total cost if built would be at least $10 billion due to delays and permitting costs.
Mines minister Mosebenzi Zwane noted that 19 of the 73 miners who died in South Africa last year lost their lives at operations run by those companies.
The firm anticipates “challenging market fundamentals” in the phosphate-fertilizer market, adding that it is currently assessing the value of some assets, which may lead to writedowns.
Steel the US has traditionally exported to TPP countries is high in value–added, which is exactly the kind of product that helps keeping the high-cost local steelmaking business afloat, analysts warn.