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 increased by 25.2 percent, while the country’s manganese ore production index fell by 2.9 percent, both month on month. In the given month, South Africa’s nickel production fell by 7.6 percent month on month.
On year-on-year basis, in December this year South African iron ore production was down by 2.1 percent, while manganese ore production increased by 32.5 percent. In December, the country’s nickel output fell by 32.0 percent compared to the same month of 2019.
Furthermore, the country’s seasonally adjusted iron ore sales at current prices in December last year rose by 32.8 percent compared to the previous month, to ZAR 10.48 billion ($725.81 million), while the seasonally adjusted nickel sales value at current prices was up by 37.8 percent in the same month compared to November, amounting to ZAR 1.09 billion ($75.49 million). South Africa’s seasonally adjusted manganese ore sales in December at current prices totaled ZAR 3.07 billion ($212.60 million), down by 21.4 percent month on month.
The year-on-year percentage change at current prices in the given month was up by 59.0 percent in iron ore sales, up by 26.3 percent in manganese ore sales and rose by 80.8 percent in nickel sales.