SA mining hits 2-year high on platinum surge

IN SHORT: South Africa’s mining output jumped 9.7% year-on-year in February, the fastest pace in two years, driven almost entirely by a 52% surge in platinum group metals. Stats SA released the data on April 14, beating economist forecasts by more than two percentage points.

South Africa’s mining sector surged 9.7% year-on-year in February 2026, its strongest growth in two years, as platinum group metal output jumped 52.3% following a year of record prices and a weak comparison base from last year’s Limpopo flooding.

The data, released by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday, blew past economist forecasts by more than two percentage points.

• PGMs were the dominant driver, contributing 9.4 percentage points of the 9.7% headline gain. Platinum prices soared more than 130% in 2025 after years of subdued demand, and a recovery from Limpopo flooding that shuttered Valterra Platinum’s Amandelbult mine in February 2025 amplified the base effect.
• Chromium ore output rose 26.9%, contributing 1.6 percentage points. Manganese ore added 17.8% and gold rose 12.8%.
• Iron ore fell 12.4% and coal dropped 6.7%, the two largest negative contributors.
• On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, mining production rose 2.3%, extending January’s 3.7% gain.
• Platinum export sales volumes rose 18% year-on-year in Q1, with sharp demand rebounds from China and Europe, according to UBS. PGMs now represent approximately 27% of all South African mineral exports, edging out coal as the top export category.

The February result stands in stark contrast to South Africa’s manufacturing sector, which contracted for a fourth consecutive month in the same period. Energy costs remain a risk: oil prices above $100 per barrel since March threaten to push up mining operating costs in the months ahead, potentially offsetting the price tailwind from platinum.

The Bigger Picture: South Africa’s mining sector is undergoing a quiet rerating. Platinum’s role in catalytic converters for combustion engines is enjoying a structural reprieve as electric vehicle adoption in most markets outside China slows, keeping demand firmer than the market expected through 2025 and into 2026. Combined with base effects from last year’s flood damage, the result is the sector’s strongest growth print in two years. With Q1 GDP data still ahead, mining’s February performance is one of the few unambiguously positive indicators in South Africa’s current economic picture.

Source: Statistics South Africa / Business Day