According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa, in December last year the seasonally adjusted index of iron ore mining production in South Africa decreased by 2.1 percent, while the country’s manganese ore production index fell by 4.7 percent, both month on month. In the given month, South Africa’s nickel production fell by 8.9 percent month on month.
On year-on-year basis, in December last year South African iron ore production was down by 7.4 percent, while manganese ore production decreased by 10.8 percent. In December, the country’s nickel output fell by 13.6 percent compared to the same month of 2020.
Furthermore, the country’s seasonally adjusted iron ore sales at current prices in December last year rose by 10.9 percent compared to the previous month, to ZAR 7.5 billion ($496.85 million), while the seasonally adjusted nickel sales value at current prices was down by 6.4 percent in the same month compared to November, amounting to ZAR 980.4 million ($64.94 million). South Africa’s seasonally adjusted manganese ore sales in December at current prices totaled ZAR 3.72 billion ($247.06 million), up by 36.1 percent month on month.
The year-on-year percentage change at current prices in the given month was down by 30.3 percent in iron ore sales, up by 28.0 percent in manganese ore sales and fell by 10.9 percent in nickel sales.