According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa, in July this year the country's actual mining production index increased by 6.7 percent compared to July 2011, while the seasonally adjusted mining production index in July decreased by 1.5 percent compared to June this year.
In South Africa, the iron ore mining production index in July increased by 24.7 percent year on year, up slightly by 0.3 percent over June, while the country's manganese ore production index in June increased by 33.4 percent compared to July 2011 and was up 8.9 percent month on month. On the other hand, South Africa's nickel production index in the month in question decreased by 4.3 percent compared to the same month last year, falling 10.8 percent compared to the previous month.
Furthermore, the seasonally adjusted iron ore sales value at current prices in June this year decreased by 3.7 percent compared to May, to ZAR 5.8 billion ($690.7 million), stable compared to June 2011. In June this year, the seasonally adjusted manganese ore sales value at current prices was ZAR 726.5 million ($86.5 million), falling 12.9 percent month on month and up 2.2 percent compared to June last year, while the seasonally adjusted nickel sales value at current prices decreased by 17.9 percent compared to May, to ZAR 514.2 million ($61.2 million), up 14.4 percent compared to June 2011.