South Africa’s gold production swung back into positive territory in December 2025, with output rising 1.1% year-over-year, according to data updated on 12 February 2026. The recovery marks a notable turnaround from November 2025, when gold production contracted by 6.0% compared with the same month a year earlier.
The figures are based on year-over-year comparisons, where the current reading reflects the change in December 2025 output versus December 2024, and the previous reading captures November 2025’s performance against November 2024. The shift from a steep annual decline in November to modest growth in December suggests a stabilization in South Africa’s gold sector at the end of 2025, after a period of pressure on production volumes.