Mining production in South Africa plummeted by 12.7% year-on-year in August 2026, following a revised 7% decline in the prior month. This marked the fourth consecutive month of downturn and the steepest annual drop since October 2022, mainly due to reduced output from PGMs (-22.5%); iron ore (-16.2%) and coal (-11.7%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, mining production shrank by 5.4%, after decreasing by 1.9% in the previous month. Mining production slumped by 5.2% in the three months ended August 2026 compared with the previous three months.