TROUBLED South African gold miner Durban Roodepoort Deep Ltd has convinced the market it will soon return to profit and forecast a sharp rise in output this year, boosting its share price. The company kicked off South Africa’s gold reporting season with an after-tax loss of R8.9m in the three months to December 31, significantly narrower than its loss of R44.5m in the previous quarter. Durban Deep said its expansion plans could significantly boost output, with plans to acquire a mine known as Savuka from AngloGold. This could boost total gold production to 1.4 million ounces in 2001 from less than 1.2 million in 2000. – Reuters