S. Africa’s mining production falls 3.5% YoY in June, sales 18.2% up

South Africa’s mining production fell 3.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in June 2024, with significant reductions observed in key sectors, according to recent data by the country’s statistics agency showed on Tuesday.

Key factors

Gold production fell by 12.6 per cent, contributing negatively by 1.8 percentage points. Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) also recorded a decline of 5.8 per cent, resulting in a 1.7 percentage point reduction. Coal production decreased by 3.3 per cent, contributing 0.8 percentage points to the overall drop. Additionally, other metallic minerals also witnessed a steep decrease of 21.3 per cent, subtracting 0.6 percentage points from the total output.

Seasonally adjusted figures for June 2024 reflected a 1.6 per cent decline in mining production compared to May 2024, following minor month-on-month (MoM) changes of 0.1 per cent in May and 0.8 per cent in April.

Quarterly, seasonally adjusted mining production in the second quarter of 2024 fell by 0.9 per cent compared to the first quarter, with iron ore and coal being the largest negative contributors, decreasing by 12.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively. PGMs, however, provided a positive influence, rising by 3.6 per cent and adding 0.9 percentage points.

South Africa’s mineral sales

In contrast to the production downturn, South Africa’s mineral sales at current prices in June 2024 surged by 18.2 per cent YoY. Gold sales were the primary driver of this increase, soaring by 98.3 per cent and contributing 14.8 percentage points.

Manganese ore sales also experienced a significant rise of 42.4 per cent, adding 2.8 percentage points, while coal sales grew by 7.8 per cent, contributing 1.9 percentage points. However, sales of PGMs and iron ore declined by 8.4 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively, contributing negatively by 2.0 and 1.1 percentage points.

Seasonally adjusted mineral sales at current prices rose by 21.8 per cent in June 2024 compared to May 2024, following a 7.3 per cent decline in May and a 15.8 per cent increase in April. Quarterly, these sales increased by 4.0 per cent in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter.

Attribution: South Africa’s Mining Production and sales (Preliminary)

Sub-Editing: Y.Yasser