The benchmark Top-40 index slipped 0.11% on the day and has lost almost 4% this quarter, the biggest fall since the same period in 2011 when it fell more than 7%, pushing it further back from record peaks hit in July.
But the market could be in for a technical bounce as the Top-40's 14-day RSI - a momentum indicator tracked by chartists - has strayed into oversold territory. This helped the index pull back from deeper losses earlier in the session.
Africa's top gold producer AngloGold Ashanti lost 0.37% but came off troughs reached earlier in the day.
Rival Harmony Gold shed 2.33% to R24.70 while Gold Fields ended 2.35% lower.
Sibanye Gold bucked the trend, adding 4.75%, after it said Van Eck Associates Corporation, an asset manager, had raised its stake in the company to over 5%.
This is a sign of confidence in a gold producer which has positioned itself as a dividend play because it is mining mature assets that generate cash.
But the overall picture for bullion is gloomy.
Spot gold touched its lowest since January 1 at $1 204.40 an ounce and is on track for a quarterly loss of 9%, hit by expectations that the dollar will rise in tandem with US interest rates.
"Gold bulls' worst nightmares involve a rampant dollar and surging real interest rates," Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner said.
The benchmark Top-40 index lost 0.11% to 44 160 while the wider All-share index shed 0.07% to 49 336.