Oct 8 (Reuters) - South African mining veteran Duncan

Wanblad on Wednesday lamented the country's foregone investment

in mining, as gold prices surged past $4,000 an ounce - a record

high driven by expectations of lower interest rates and

safe-haven demand.

Addressing the Johannesburg Mining Indaba conference, Anglo

American Plc ( AAUKF ) CEO Duncan Wanblad, whose company exited

South Africa's gold mining sector in 2009, said the country's

mining potential was under-explored "due to unsupportive policy

for exploration in the last 20-odd years".

"That's a very important part of a mining life cycle. The

data will show you that it takes about 17 years from the time

that you find the deposit until the time that you get it

permitted and ramped up into full production," Wanblad said.

"It's a generation of mines that have been foregone," he

added.

On Wednesday, the gold price vaulted above $4,000 an ounce,

a new record in a rally driven by expectations of lower interest

rates and safe-haven demand, just as mining executives gathered

at the Johannesburg conference to discuss the industry's

prospects.

The record revived memories of a visit 26 years ago by South

African mining executive Bobby Godsell to Washington and London

to lobby the IMF and Britain against a gold sell-off, in a

desperate bid to stop prices falling further below $260 an

ounce.

At the time, South Africa was a top three gold producer in

the world, its output averaging 400 metric tons annually. Its

output has fallen from 1,000 metric tons in 1970, when the

country was the leading global producer, to 90 metric tons last

year.

Today, South Africa's old, deep shafts are more expensive to

run, compared to rivals in Africa, Australia, Canada and South

America.

Added to this, South African mining executives have said

infrastructure challenges, policy uncertainty and labour unrest

are holding back investment into exploration and mine

development in the country.

Top South African gold miners Gold Fields, founded

by Cecil Rhodes in 1887, Harmony Gold and Anglo's

former gold unit, which became AngloGold Ashanti ( AU ) in 2004,

have all acquired assets elsewhere in Africa, Australia and the

Americas.