Mining output dips in December

South Africa’s mining output declined 2% year-on-year in December, as poor performance from the diamonds, iron-ore and platinum-group metals (PGMs) sectors weighed on overall production. The latest data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) showed negative growth rates of -27.9% and -15.6% for diamonds and iron-ore, which respectively contributed -3.5 percentage points and -1 percentage point.