According to the preliminary data released on March 13 by Statistics South Africa, in January this year the country's mining output contracted by 2.5 percent compared to January 2011, while seasonally adjusted manufacturing production for the three months ended January 31 increased by 5.5 percent compared to the previous three months ended October 31 last year.
In South Africa, the seasonally adjusted index of the volume of iron ore production in January this year decreased by five percent month on month and was up 26 percent compared to January 2011. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted index of the manganese ore production volume in January increased by 9.8 percent compared to December 2011 and rose by 39 percent year on year.
Furthermore, the seasonally adjusted iron ore sales value at current prices in December last year increased by 8.8 percent compared to November, rising to ZAR 5.87 billion ($779 million). In the vhole of 2011, South Africa's iron ore sales value rose 44.3 percent compared to 2010, to ZAR 62.63 billion ($8.3 billion).