BusinessLive reports that according to the Chamber of Mines of SA (COM), job losses in mining have slowed down compared with two years ago.  

The relative improvement comes against the backdrop of moderate growth in the sector driven by platinum group metals, which are back in demand because China’s economic prospects are looking up.  The sustained rise of commodity prices has also helped mining.  Figures released by Statistics SA last week show that mining production increased 4.6% year-on-year in February 2017, after recording a 1.4% year-on-year increase in January.  COM chief economist Henk Langenhoven indicated that nearly 40,000 jobs had been lost in mining from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2016.  He commented:  "It’s … still very tough, but if we compare to the beginning of 2015, job losses have slowed down dramatically."

• Read this report by Sunita Menon in full at BusinessLive
• Read the COM’s press statement in this regard at COM online

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