SA’s mining production ebb gets worse

THE DECLINE in South Africa’s annual mining production deepened to 4.2 percent last November from 2.6 percent last October, signalling that the mining sector could make a negative contribution to 2016’s last quarter gross domestic product. On a seasonally adjusted basis, mining dropped by 3.9 percent month on month in November and by 1.5 percent for the three months to November. Statistics SA said yesterday that the main negative contributors were platinum group metals and iron ore, which subtracted 1.1 percent and 1.6 percentage points, respectively, from the quarterly figure. Nedbank said: “The performance of mining production should be supported by the forecast lift in commodity prices in 2017. However, global demand… is still subdued and conditions in the domestic mining sector remain challenging.” – Wiseman Khuzwayo