South Africa’s mining output fell by 4.4% year-on-year in June 2026, following a downwardly revised 5.1% decline in May. The largest negative contributions came from platinum group metals (PGMs), which dropped 8.4% and subtracted 2.4 percentage points from overall growth, followed by coal (-6.6%; -1.7 percentage points) and iron ore (-10.2%; -1.5 percentage points).
In contrast, production increased for several minerals: manganese ore rose 13.3% (from 10.1% previously), chromium ore climbed 8.6% (vs 10.3%), gold expanded 6.2% (reversing a 4.4% fall), and building materials grew 2.5% (after an 8.8% contraction).
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, mining production edged up 0.3% in June, recovering from a 5.2% drop in May. Overall, mining activity contracted by 2.7% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the first quarter.
