Photo by: Duane Daws
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa’s mining production declined by 5.7% year-on-year in June, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) revealed on Thursday.
Platinum-group metals (PGMs), with a negative growth rate of 37.2%, was the main contributor to the 5.7% decline, having subtracted 7.8 percentage points.
Large negative growth rates were also recorded for other nonmetalllic minerals and chromium ore, which showed declines in production of 5.8% and 4.1% respectively.
Further, seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 1.4% in June compared with May, following month-on-month changes of -3.1% in May and 7.1% in April, Stats SA said.
Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted mining production increased marginally by 0.1% in the three months ended June compared with the previous quarter.
The main contributors to the 0.1% increase were manganese ore, which contributed 1.1 percentage points, iron-ore, which contributed one percentage point, and coal, which also added one percentage point.
PGM output was a significant negative contributor, having subtracted 3.5 percentage points.
Meanwhile, Stats SA noted that mineral sales had increased by 1.9% year-on-year in May, with the highest positive growth rates having been recorded for nickel, at 97.3%, chromium ore, at 35.7%, and other nonmetallic minerals, which grew by 21.9%.
The major contributors to the 1.9% increase were coal, having contributed 2.2 percentage points, nickel, which added 1.9 percentage points, as well as other nonmetallic minerals and chromium ore that added 1.3 percentage points and 1.2 percentage points respectively.
Seasonally adjusted mineral sales at current prices declined by 4% in May compared with April, following month-on-month changes of -0.6% in April and -9.9% in March, Stats SA noted.