JOHANNESBURG - Mining production fell by 8.4 percent on a year-on-year basis in March, weighed down by gold, platinum group metals, diamonds and iron ore, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday.
Seasonally adjusted mining output decreased by 3.4 in March compared with February, following month-on-month changes of 0.5 percent in February and 1.6 percent in January, the statistics department said.
Gold output tumbled 18 percent on a year-on-year basis, contributing 2.5 percentage points towards the annual decline in March, while PGMs were down 6.1 percent and contributed 1.5 percentage points.
Diamond production was down 24.7 percent and made up 1.2 percentage points to the drop in mine output, and iron ore, which slid 8.9 percent, was responsible for 1.2 percentage points of the total contraction.