According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa, in January this year the seasonally adjusted index of iron ore mining production in South Africa decreased by 1.8 percent, while the country’s manganese ore production index fell by 7.4 percent, both month on month. In the given month, South Africa’s nickel production rose by 19.3 percent month on month.
On year-on-year basis, in January this year South African iron ore production was down by 3.8 percent, while manganese ore production increased by 34.7 percent. In January, the country’s nickel output fell by 9.8 percent compared to the same month of 2020.
Furthermore, the country’s seasonally adjusted iron ore sales at current prices in January this year fell by 12.9 percent compared to the previous month, to ZAR 9.38 billion ($626.85 million), while the seasonally adjusted nickel sales value at current prices was down by 49.4 percent in the same month compared to November, amounting to ZAR 556.6 million ($37.20 million). South Africa’s seasonally adjusted manganese ore sales in January at current prices totaled ZAR 2.67 billion ($178.45 million), down by 7.3 percent month on month.
The year-on-year percentage change at current prices in the given month was up by 43.3 percent in iron ore sales, up by 17.7 percent in manganese ore sales and fell by 44.7 percent in nickel sales.