JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's mining production declined by 2.7 percent year on year in November 2025, according to data released by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday.

The contraction marked the first decline in mining activity since April 2025, reversing an upwardly revised 6.1 percent increase in October 2025 and falling short of market expectations of a 3.9 percent gain.

The downturn was driven largely by weaker output in key commodities. Coal production fell 7.9 percent, iron ore output dropped 7.6 percent, platinum group metals declined 2.8 percent, and gold production decreased 6.0 percent, the agency's data showed.

In contrast, manganese ore posted a strong performance, with production expanding 17 percent, providing support to overall mining activity.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, mining production plunged 5.9 percent month on month in November 2025, following an upwardly revised 2.7 percent rise in the previous month.

Despite the monthly drop, seasonally adjusted output for the three months ending November 2025 increased 1.6 percent compared with the previous three-month period. ■