Mining production maintains growth

[miningmx.com] — Johannesburg – South African mining production rose 9.6% year-on-year in November after an upwardly revised 6.5% (5.6%) rise in October, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.

Although production had dropped in May 2010, the industry recorded growth since then.

In the three months ending November, seasonally adjusted production increased by 2.6% compared to the previous three months.

The main contributor to the 2.6% increase was platinum group metals, contributing 1.8 percentage points.

Actual total mining production rose by 9.5% for the three months ended November 2010 compared with the three months ended November 2009.

Stats SA figures show that the seasonally adjusted value of mineral sales at current prices for the three months ended October 2010 reflected an increase of 7.1% compared with the three months ended July 2010.

The increase of 7.1%, or R5.3bn, was mainly due to increases in the sales value of platinum group metals which contributed 3.3 percentage points or R2.4bn.

The actual value of mineral sales at current prices for the three months ended October 2010 increased by 32.2% compared with the same period in 2009.

The major contributors to the increase were platinum group metals, iron ore, gold, coal, manganese ore and other non-metallic minerals.