12 June 2013
Output of platinum group metals
(pgms) in South Africa fell sharply in April, according to latest figures.Statistics
South Africa said Tuesday (June 11th) that pgm production fell 13.4% in April
from the same month in 2012.March had posted a year-on-year gain of 1.8%,
though this increase was attributable to the effects of strike action during
the same month last year.The drop in pgm output led to a 0.4% decline in
overall mining production in April, dragged down also by a fall in gold output
and 'other metallic elements'.
Platinum group elements
contributed 2.8 percentage points to the overall drop in output.Seasonally
adjusted mining production decreased by 1.5% in the three months ending April
2013, compared with the previous three months, with pgms contributing 0.8 of a
percentage point to the decline.For March, pgm sales were up 35% from the same
month a year before, helping overall mineral sales to rise 10.5%.Despite this,
it seems the prospects for South Africa's platinum and other miners are not
promising."Poor global growth, generally weak commodity prices and
difficult operating conditions in the local mining industry will continue to
undermine the performance of mining production in the months ahead,"
Nedbank said in a note.
Sources: http://www.platinum.matthey.com