Mining production decreased by 3.1% year-on-year in November, data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows. In a statement, financial services provider Nedbank’s Economic Group Unit said this represented the fourth consecutive month of yearly decline, with non-gold activity remaining the main drag.
Stats SA data shows that the largest negative contributors to the decline were platinum group metals (PGMs) (-13.5% and contributing -3.6 percentage points); iron-ore (-7.5% and contributing -0.7 of a percentage point); and coal (-2.8% and contributing -0.7 of a percentage point).
Other nonmetallic minerals, however, made a significant positive contribution (20.5% and contributing 1.2 percentage points). Further, seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 3.5% month-on-month in November. This followed month-on-month changes of 1.7% in October and 0.8% in September.
Seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 0.9% in the three months ended November, compared with the previous three months.
The two largest negative contributors were manganese ore (-10.6% and contributing -0.8 of a percentage point) and coal (-2.9% and contributing -0.7 of a percentage point).
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