SA’s mining output rose 5.2% year on year in November, beating market forecasts.
Platinum group metals (PGMs) and iron ore were the main contributors to the output, Stats SA said on Tuesday in a statement.
Mining output was forecast to have risen 3.5% in November from a year earlier, according to the median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey.
The production volume of PGMs, which are largely used to clean the emissions of internal combustion engines, surged to an annual rate of 38.1%. Iron ore output rose 9.3% from a year ago.
However, coal production fell 7.9% year on year and was the main drag on the overall mining production figures, the agency said.
Mining production figures have since normalised after the low base effect of 2020, created by lockdown restrictions, petered out.
Mineral sales at current prices increased 22.2% in November, compared to the same period a year ago, boosted mainly by PGMs, gold and coal.
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