South Africa's December Mining Output Rises 2.5% as Full-Year 2025 Production Ends Broadly Flat

South Africa's December Mining Output Rises 2.5% as Full-Year 2025 Production Ends Broadly Flat

PRETORIA, 12 February 2026. South Africa's mining sector recovered modestly at the close of 2025, with production rising 2.5% year on year in December, bouncing back from a downwardly revised 2.4% contraction in November, while full-year 2025 output ended broadly flat after iron ore and manganese gains offset weakness in platinum group metals and coal, Statistics South Africa reported.

The December improvement was driven primarily by manganese ore and iron ore, both of which recorded strong growth, while platinum group metals, which had been the largest drag on mining performance through the middle of the year, remained soft. The sector's mixed performance across 2025 reflected divergent commodity demand: Chinese infrastructure spending underpinned bulk minerals such as iron ore and manganese, while subdued global automotive production continued to suppress PGM demand.

Manufacturing production data for December, released alongside the mining figures, showed contraction for the month, with output falling approximately 1.5% year on year, the second consecutive year of negative manufacturing growth. The sector remained constrained by weak domestic demand, input cost pressures, and structural challenges in freight logistics, though the sharp improvement in the January 2026 Absa Purchasing Managers' Index suggested some stabilisation at the start of the new year.

Economists noted that the mining sector's resilience through 2025 had provided meaningful support to South Africa's overall economic performance, which expanded 0.5% in the third quarter, the fourth consecutive quarter of positive GDP growth. Mining contributed positively to that result, with the sector recording 2.3% growth in Q3. Fourth-quarter GDP data, expected in March, would provide a fuller picture of whether the economy sustained its momentum through the December period.

South Africa's mining industry operates under constraints that limit the translation of commodity price gains into domestic output growth, including ageing deep-level gold and PGM shaft infrastructure, skills shortages, and rising energy costs. Eskom's improved electricity reliability through 2025, with only 26 hours of load shedding recorded for the full year, was cited as a meaningful cost reduction for mining companies previously dependent on diesel-powered backup generation.

Statistics South Africa releases monthly mining and manufacturing production data approximately six weeks after the reference month.