By Thebe Mabanga
The rally in the price of gold, which saw the metal hit $ 4000/ oz, has boosted mineral sales for August, but could not mask the decline in production in gold, platinum group metals (PGM), and manganese, while coal was the commodity with the highest production growth.
On Tuesday, Statistics South Africa reported that mineral sales at current prices increased by 23,3% year-on-year in August 2025, with gold surging by 471,5% and contributing 17,9 percentage points, and PGMs rising 44,1% and contributing 9,5 percentage points.
A drag on mineral sales came from manganese ore, which fell 24,7% and contributed -2,3 percentage points, and iron ore, which dipped by 14,0% and contributed -2,1 percentage points.
The sales performance could not mask overall decline, as Stats SA reported that mining production decreased by 0,2% in August 2025 compared to August last year.
The decrease was due to a fall
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