Mining production in South Africa shrank 1.5% year-on-year in April 2019, after a downwardly revised 0.7% fall in March. Output declined for gold (-19.5% vs -18.3% in March); iron ore (-11.9% vs -1.8%); chromium ore (-7.2% vs -6.3%); nickel (-7.7% vs 12.7%) and building materials (-3.8% vs 0.5%) and rose less for coal (0.4% vs 6.1%). In contrast, gains were recorded for copper (42.2% vs 24.6%); manganese ore (5.9% vs 5.7%); platinum group metals (PGM) (1.7% vs -0.5%); other metallic minerals (82.8% vs 26.7%); diamonds (20.6% vs 3.1%) and other non-metallic minerals (5.2% vs -7.7%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, mining production went down 2.3% compared to an upwardly revised 4.2% gain in the previous month. Mining Production in South Africa averaged -0.09 percent from 1981 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 23.20 percent in October of 2013 and a record low of -17.40 percent in March of 2016.
Mining Production in South Africa is expected to be -1.82 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Mining Production in South Africa to stand at -1.40 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the South Africa Mining Production is projected to trend around 1.20 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.