Increased Chinese mineral production is just as much a cause for the slide in prices as the aggressive expansions by western mining companies.

Nelson Mandela's daughter Zindzi; Dudu Myeni, a close associate of President Jacob Zuma, and Cyril Ramaphosa's business partner James Motlatsi are some of the beneficiaries of Gold Fields's controversial South Deep empowerment deal in South Africa.

Cracks are widening in Gold Fields' secretive black empowerment deal, which saw the politically connected Invictus Gold take 9% of South Deep mine at a cost to shareholders of R1,1bn in 2010.