SA’s mining sector down 2.5% in August; mineral sales down 16.1%

Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) has reported that the domestic mining production decreased by 2.5% year-on-year in August 2023.

StatsSA said the largest negative contributors were diamonds (-54.6%, contributing -2.7 percentage points) and manganese ore (-7.9%, contributing -0.6 of a percentage point).

The country’s seasonally adjusted mining production increased by 0.8% in August 2023 compared with July 2023. This followed month-on-month changes of -1.7% in July 2023 and 0.8% in June 2023.

The agency added that South Africa’s seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 2.0% in the three months ended August 2023 compared with the previous three months.

StatsSA also reported that the country’s mineral sales at current prices decreased by 16.1% year-on-year in August 2023, primarily due to lower sales of platinum group metals (-39.5%) and coal (-33.4%).

South Africa’s seasonally adjusted mineral sales at current prices increased by 6.7% in August 2023 compared with July 2023. This followed month-on-month changes of -5.8% in July 2023 and -13.6% in June 2023.

The country’s mineral sales at current prices decreased by 5.7% in the three months ended August 2023 compared with the previous three months.