A dip in precious metals production weighed on SA’s mining output at the end of last year, though strong performances from the country’s coal and manganese sectors provided some relief.
SA’s total mining production fell 2.4% year on year in December a 0.9% decline in November, according to Stats SA's latest data.
The primary driver of December’s slump was the platinum group metals (PGM) sector, where output fell by 7.1% year on year as producers continued to respond to stubbornly low prices stemming from the transport industry’s shift to electric vehicles from catalytic converters.
Further pressure came from the steady decline in gold output, with gold miners reporting a 14th straight month of declines despite the price continuing to rally on safe-haven demand. Production of the precious metal fell 8.4% year on year in December after an 11.5% drop in November.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, December mineral and metals output was down 3.9% from the previous month after a flat reading in November, resulting in a slight decrease from the third to the fourth quarter.
Production for the whole of last year came out 0.4% higher than in 2023, following a 0.1% increase in the previous year and a 7.8% decline in 2022.
However, the weak end to last year means that mining sector will subtract from SA’s real GDP in the fourth quarter, said Minerals Council chief economist Hugo Pienaar.
“The sector still has a long way to go to recover from the large production slump of 7.8% during 2022. Indeed, the level of real mining production in December 2024 was still about 9% below the pre-Covid level of 2019.
“This dramatically illustrates the challenging domestic operating environment for the sector and global headwinds, which include prolonged depressed PGM pricing,” said Pienaar.
The steady decline of SA’s gold sector also put pressure on sales, which at current prices decreased by 9.1% year on year in December thanks to a 34% decline in gold sales, as well as a 33% decline in iron ore sales.
While precious metals slipped, SA’s coal sector picked up speed in December, with output increasing by 2.5% year on year and sales increasing by 11.6%, making coal the largest positive contributor to December's sales figure.
The decline was further offset by manganese miners, with manganese ore production increasing 8.7% during the period under review.
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