Production up in South Africa

Total mining production in South Africa rose by 5.8% in 2003 after a tiny 0.8% increase in 2002, according to Statistics South Africa.

The increase was due in large part to an increase of 9.4% in the production of non-gold minerals (iron ore, copper, nickel, platinum group elements, coal, building materials, manganese, and chromium) in calendar 2003 versus the same period in 2002. Meanwhile, gold production dropped 6.3%, year over year.

In December 2003, mining production rose by 10.5%, year over year, as non-gold mining production increased by 15.8%. However, gold production fell by 7.6% over the same period.

Despite December’s strong numbers, overall production in the fourth quarter of 2003 declined by 1.1% versus the third quarter. Both non-gold and gold production witnessed drops of 1.1%.

Pundits had expected a 6% year-over-year increase in December 2003, compared with November’s slowdown of 5.9%, year over year, and October’s 8.5% year-over-year rise.

The data show that it was not a weak rand but rather strong global growth that accounted for the higher mining production. The rand averaged 7.55 rand per U.S. dollar in 2003, compared with 10.51 rand per greenback in 2002 and 8.61 rand in 2001.

The South African economy has officially been on an upward cycle since September 1999, and in May of last year the country exceeded its longest phase of continuous growth, originally established in the period between September 1961 and April 1965.

— The preceding is from a bulletin published by Statistics South Africa, a government body based in Pretoria.