Miningmx reports that according to Minerals Council SA (MCSA) chief economist Hugo Pienaar, the record-high nominal gold price has not been able to stop the “deep structural decline” of SA’s gold sector.
Reviewing the latest mining production and minerals sales statistics released by Stats SA for the second quarter of 2024, Pienaar said that manganese and chrome were the only sub-categories that had increased since the fourth quarter of 2019 – immediately prior to the Covid outbreak – until now. In overall terms, real mining production in the second quarter was 8.7% lower than the fourth quarter of 2019. Iron ore and gold had performed the worst. “To a large extent the weakness in iron ore and coal production is due to Transnet logistical problems, most notably a significant railway maintenance backlog. In the case of platinum group metals (PGMs), production has been curtailed in response to a sustained low PGM basket price,” Pienaar explained. According to Stats SA, total SA mining production showed a decline of 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2024 and this followed a contraction of 1.3% in the first quarter. Pienaar commented that “the further decline in mining in the second quarter is particularly disappointing against a backdrop where mine load-curtailment was absent for the entire second quarter and electricity generation increased by just over 2% in real terms.” In Pienaar’s view, overall mining production is likely to remain subdued in the foreseeable future.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brendan Ryan at Miningmx
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