Mining production in South Africa fell sharply by 7.5% year-on-year in July 2026, following an upwardly revised 4.3% decline in June and far exceeding analysts’ expectations of a 2.8% drop. This latest contraction marks the third consecutive month of decline and is the steepest fall since February 2025.
The sector remains under pressure from longstanding structural challenges, including logistics bottlenecks, elevated operating costs, ageing mines and softer demand for key commodities such as iron ore and coal. Output decreased across almost all categories, with the largest negative contributions coming from platinum group metals (PGMs) (-13.5%), coal (-7.5%) and iron ore (-8%).
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, mining production contracted by 1.9% in July, following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in June. Over the three months to July 2026, mining output declined by 5.5% compared with the preceding three-month period.
