South Africa’s mining production rose by 8.2% year-on-year in April 2026, accelerating from a 2.5% increase in March and driven largely by a low base of comparison. This was the fifth consecutive month of expansion in mining activity, underpinned primarily by strong gains in PGMs (+36.5%), manganese ore (+19%), and chromium ore (+17.5%).
In contrast, output fell in several segments, including coal (-5.8%), copper (-13.1%), other metallic minerals (-16%), diamonds (-17.1%), and other non-metallic minerals (-4.8%).
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, mining production increased by 3.3% in April, rebounding from a revised 4.8% decline in the previous month. Over the three months to April 2026, mining output was 2.4% higher than in the preceding three-month period.
