South Africa Mining Production Down 7.5% in July 2026: PGM, Coal, Iron Ore Decline - News and Statistics - IndexBox

AI desk brief

South Africa’s mining production fell 7.5% y/y in July 2026, with PGMs the biggest drag: output dropped 13.5% y/y and subtracted 3.2 percentage points from the headline decline. On a three-month basis, seasonally adjusted mining production was 5.5% lower, with PGMs down 14.3%, while gold also fell 4.6% and iron ore 2.7%.

Mineral sales at current prices fell 5.6% y/y, and gold was the largest negative contributor, plunging 33.4% and subtracting 8.5 percentage points. Offsetting gains came from chromium ore and coal, but the overall read-through is weaker South African supply and sales for PGMs and gold, which is modestly supportive for precious metals near term.