[SMM Chromium Flash] Chromium Ore Output Rises 11.1% YoY in August as SA Mining Falls 12.7%

Published: Oct 14, 2026 15:24 (GMT+8)

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South Africa’s mining production fell 12.7% year-on-year in August 2026, the steepest annual decline since October 2022, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The fall was deeper than July’s revised 7.0% decline. Chromium ore was one of only two mining sectors to grow, rising 11.1% year-on-year and adding 0.6 percentage points to the headline figure. Manganese ore was the other, up 4.1% and adding 0.3 percentage points.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) were the largest drag, down 22.5% and subtracting 6.1 percentage points. Coal fell 11.7% (-3.0 percentage points) and iron ore fell 16.2% (-2.4 percentage points). On a seasonally adjusted basis, production fell 5.4% month-on-month in August, following a 1.9% decline in July and a 0.4% rise in June. In the three months to August, seasonally adjusted production was 5.2% lower than in the previous three months, with PGMs down 14.4%.

Mineral sales at current prices fell 15.1% year-on-year in August. Gold sales declined 48.6%, subtracting 8.6 percentage points, followed by iron ore at -23.0%, PGMs at -7.5% and coal at -7.8%. Seasonally adjusted mineral sales fell 7.9% month-on-month, after a 13.7% decline in July.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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