South African mining production rose 9.6% year on year in May after a revised 12.0% increase in April, data released by Statistics SA on Thursday shows.
This reflects a pullback in growth after April’s strong figure, which was the highest increase registered since September last year.
Seasonally adjusted mining production increased by 0.4% for the three months to May, compared with the three months to February.
The main contributor to the 0.4% increase was iron ore, which contributed 1.3 percentage points.
Actual mining production increased by 6.7% for the three months to May, compared with the three months to May 2010.
The seasonally adjusted value of mineral sales at current prices reflected an increase of 4.4% for the three months to April, compared with the three months to January.
This R3.68-billion increase was mainly due to increases in the sales value of coal, which contributed 2.6 percentage points or R2.18-billion, and other non-metallic minerals, which made up 1.5 percentage points or R1.23-billion.
The actual value of mineral sales at current prices for the three months to April increased by 28% when compared with the three months to April 2010.
The main reasons for this increase were: iron ore, which contributed 7.3 percentage points or R4.97-billion; coal, with its contribution of 6.8 percentage points or R4.62-billion; platinum group metals, which added 6.7 percentage points or R4.51-billion; and gold, with its contribution of 3.9 percentage points or R2.61-billion. — I-Net Bridge