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Frederick Mitchell, Chief Economist | Aluma Capital (Pty) Ltd
Frederick Mitchell
October 15, 2025

Mining Production and Sales

August 2025

In August 2025, mining activity in South Africa declined by 0.2% year-on-year, following a 5.1% increase in July.

This decrease was mainly driven by:

  • A 3.0% drop in platinum production, which contributed -0.9 percentage points to the overall contraction for the month.
  • A 3.6% decline in gold production, subtracting another 0.4 percentage points.
  • A 3.4% contraction in manganese mining, accounting for an additional 0.3 percentage points.

For the rolling quarter ending August 2025, seasonally adjusted mining production increased by 3.3% compared to the previous three months. The quarterly growth was primarily driven by:

  • Platinum mining, which expanded by 9.1%, contributing 2.6 percentage points.
  • Coal production, which grew by 3.6%, adding another 0.8 percentage points.

Nominal mining sales increased by 23.3% in August. This positive trend was supported by several subsectors, notably:

  • Platinum sales, which surged by 44.1%, contributing 9.5 percentage points to total mining sales growth.
  • Gold sales, which increased significantly by 471.5%, adding 17.9 percentage points.

However, some segments negatively impacted mining sales:

  • Iron ore sales, which contracted by 14.0%, subtracting 2.1 percentage points.
  • Manganese ore, which declined by 24.7%, also reducing sales by 2.3 percentage points.

The mining sector remains essential to South Africa’s economy, providing foreign exchange earnings and employment for approximately 434,000 people, according to StatsSA labour statistics for the second quarter of 2025. The sector grew by 3.7% from the first to the second quarter of 2025, based on recent GDP data. This quarterly growth is encouraging, given the sector’s continued importance for employment and foreign exchange.

Employment within the sector has marginally increased compared to the previous quarter, highlighting its ongoing significance. Nevertheless, several challenges remain, including concerns over exports to the US following new tariff measures introduced on 7 August, proposed export tariffs on manganese, and import tariffs on steel exports to the Eurozone. The sector also faces difficulties related to the loss of AGOA benefits in September and ongoing issues surrounding the new Mining Charter.

On the international front, geopolitical tensions between the US and China—marked by trade conflicts and tariff disputes—continue to disrupt global markets and restrict trade flows. Nonetheless, some positive developments have occurred, such as the temporary exemption of certain mining materials used in steelmaking from high US tariffs. This offers some relief for the sector, which is crucial to South Africa’s economy in terms of employment, foreign exchange earnings, and overall growth.

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