South African mining increases production, sales

South African mining increases production, sales

Statistics South Africa released the February 2005 production figures and January 2005 sales figures for the country's mining industry. After the seasonal adjustment, the total mining production for South Africa between December 2004 and February 2005 shows a 6.9% increase over the previous three months. In February 2005, the country's iron ore production increased 2.9% year on year. Iron ore production held a 3.1% share in the overall mining activities in the country in terms of tonnage. On the other hand, manganese ore production showed a healthy 17.9% year-on-year increase to claim a 1.3% share in overall mining activities. Coal mining made up 20% of total mining production and showed a 12.5% year-on-year increase. On the other hand, mineral sales for the three moths ending January 2005 reflected an increase of 3.2% compared with the previous three months. Furthermore, the actual value of mineral sales for the three months ending January 2005 increased by 9.9% year on year. Iron ore sales reached Rand 331.1 million ($54 million) in January 2005, while manganese ore sales reached Rand 173.4 million. Coal sales hit Rand 2.83 billion. From November 2004 through January 2005, iron ore sales grew 21.7% year on year, while manganese ore and coal sales showed gains of 26.4% and 27.8% respectively. Coal accounted for 22.6% of overall sales during November 2004 – January 2005, while iron ore constituted 3.4% and manganese ore constituted 1.3%.