FX.co ★ South Africa Mining Output Posts Surprise Decline

In November 2025, South Africa experienced a 2.7% year-on-year decrease in mining production, according to revised data, which had shown a 6.1% increase in the preceding month. This decline was contrary to market expectations, which anticipated a 3.9% increase. This marked the first drop in mining activity since April of the previous year. Major contributions to this downturn were coal, which fell by 7.9% contributing a negative 2.1 percentage points; iron ore with a 7.6% decline contributing negative 1.1 percentage points; and platinum group metals with a 2.8% decrease contributing a negative 0.8 percentage points. Additionally, gold outputs decreased by 6.0%, contributing to a negative 0.5 percentage points. On a seasonally adjusted basis, there was a significant 5.9% month-on-month drop in mining production for November, following a 2.7% increase in the prior month. However, for the three months ending in November 2025, seasonally adjusted mining production saw a modest increase of 1.6% compared to the preceding three-month period.