According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa, in October this year the seasonally adjusted index of iron ore mining production in South Africa increased by 1.3 percent, while the country’s manganese ore production index rose by 10.8 percent, both month on month. In the given month, South Africa’s nickel production fell by 2.3 percent month on month.
On year-on-year basis, in October this year South African iron ore production was down by 26.5 percent, while manganese ore production decreased by 3.2 percent. In October, the country’s nickel output rose by 2.9 percent compared to the same month of 2019.
Furthermore, the country’s seasonally adjusted iron ore sales at current prices in October this year fell by 38.2 percent compared to the previous month, to ZAR 5.98 billion ($395.91 million), while the seasonally adjusted nickel sales value at current prices was down by 67.2 percent in the same month compared to September, amounting to ZAR 246.5 million ($16.32 million). South Africa’s seasonally adjusted manganese ore sales in October at current prices totaled ZAR 3.84 billion ($254.12 million), down by 7.5 percent month on month.
The year-on-year percentage change at current prices in the given month was up by 31.2 percent in iron ore sales, down by 7.9 percent in manganese ore sales and fell by 67.4 percent in nickel sales.
