South Africa's total mining production for the three months ending April 2008 decreased by 9 percent compared with the same period in 2007, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) reported on Thursday. The actual total mining production for April 2008 decreased by 2 percent compared with April 2007, said Stats SA. The total mining production for the three months ended April 2008, after seasonal adjustment, decreased by 4.1 percent compared with the previous three months. This was due to a decrease of 5.5 percent in the production of gold and a decrease of 3.9 percent in the production of non-gold minerals.
The major contributors to the decrease of 4.1 percent were platinum group metals (PGMs), diamonds and gold, according to the statement released on Thursday. Coal, however, contributed positively to the 4.1 percent decrease with sales increasing 1.3 percentage points. Gold production, one of the biggest drivers of the South African economy, decreased by 10.1 percent in April 2008 compared to the corresponding previous year.
With regard to mineral sales as at the end of March 2008, the total seasonally adjusted value of mineral sales at current first quarter of 2008 reflected an increase of 13.5 percent compared with the previous quarter. The increase of 13.5 percent, or about R8 million, can be attributed to increases of 14.3 percent in the sale of non-gold minerals and 9 percent in the sale of gold.
The actual total value of mineral sales at current prices for the first quarter of 2008 increased by 21.1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2007.
The major contributors to the increase of 21.1 percent year-on-year [y/y] in the actual value of mineral sales were PGMs, coal, manganese ore, other non-metallic minerals, and iron ore.
Source: Buanews
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