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Zawya
17-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Mining production sees 3.7% boost in May 2025
The Minerals Council South Africa has released the mining production results for May 2025. Mining production recorded a 3.7% increase month-on-month in this period. This follows a flat performance in April. Five of the nine major mineral segments registered production increases, with nickel surging by 55.6%, followed by the PGMs (+10.1%), iron ore (+6.6%), diamonds (+3.9%) and chrome (+2.9%). Increasing output The surge in nickel production is a result of an increase in output in one of the five major mines. The increase in PGMs output in May is more a base effect, following production disruptions in April. The other four major sub-sectors recorded the following declines in production: copper (-5.9%), coal (-2.6%), gold (-0.2%) and manganese (-0.2%). The positive overall mining growth performance in May bodes well for the quarterly production of the mining sector. Compared to Q1 2025, which contracted by 4%, Q2 production looks set to increase by more than 3%, resulting in a positive contribution by the sector to overall real GDP performance. Total mining production Year-on-year, total mining production increased slightly by 0.2%. This breaks a streak of six months where annual mining production declined. Six of the major industries recorded increases in May. These include gold (+1.5%), iron ore (+12.5%), chrome (+3.7%), nickel (+19.1%), and diamonds (+7.7%). Together, these sub-sectors represent just under 36% of total mining production. Compared to 12 months ago, production contracted for manganese (-13%), coal (-4.6%), and the PGMs (-0.6%). Year-to-date (January to May 2025), production was down by 4.2% compared to the same period last year. Earnings Minerals sales earnings (measured in current prices) soared by 18.8% in May compared to 12 months ago. Leading the surge was gold sales, which increased by a mammoth 338.7%. This is explained by a 40% increase in the gold price when compared to a year ago. There were also increases in chrome (5.2%), copper (+10.8%) and nickel (+70.2%). Declines in minerals sales year-on-year were recorded in the iron ore (-10.5%), manganese (-9.1%), PGMs (- 15.6%), and coal (-4.2%) sub-sectors. There was a slight increase of 1.1% in total minerals sales – R321bn in 2025 compared to R317bn (2024). Month-on-month (April to May 2025), gold sales increased by almost R4bn, the biggest increase by far of all the sub-sectors. Gold is the safe haven Continued volatility in global markets resulting from the US tariff regime continues to affect demand for minerals, impacting prices. In such an environment, the gold price should remain well supported as gold is viewed as a safe haven investment instrument. Most of South Africa's mineral exports to the US are currently exempt from the tariffs, except for diamonds and iron ore. The tariffs are likely to increase auto prices in the US, which could result in lower total demand. If realised, the decline in demand for autos in the US will likely affect PGMs production in the short- to medium-term via a reduced demand for autocatalytic converters. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
08-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Govt's proposed chrome export tax threatens jobs
South Africa's proposed chrome ore export tax will hurt miners' profitability and lead to job losses across the sector, the country's Minerals Council has said. Africa's most advanced economy is the world's biggest exporter of chrome, which is mostly used in the manufacture of stainless steel. South Africa also used to be the biggest global producer of ferrochrome, a combination of chrome and iron, but lost that pole position to China, mostly due to high electricity costs which have forced many smelters to shut. On June 26 2025, South Africa's cabinet announced it had agreed to lower power tariffs for chrome smelters as well as a proposal to impose a tax on chrome ore exports as part of efforts to stop the decline of the ferrochrome industry. The Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA), which represents the country's biggest miners, said in a statement that the tax "would not achieve the government's aims of sustaining the ferrochrome industry and the preservation of jobs". It would instead "hurt chrome producers and the significant contribution this industry makes to both South Africa's economy and the jobs it sustains and grows". South Africa's chrome sector directly employs 25,000 people and earned the country R85bn ($4.85 billion) in export revenue in 2024, according to the Minerals Council. It exported a record 20.5 million metric tons of chrome concentrate in 2024, mostly to China, the world's biggest importer of the commodity. Companies mining and processing chrome in South Africa include Glencore, Tharisa Plc and South32.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
South Africa's proposed chrome export tax could lead to job losses
The South African mining industry is facing a potential challenge as the government's proposed chrome ore export tax could negatively affect miners' profitability and lead to job losses, according to a report by Reuters. The Minerals Council South Africa, representing the country's major miners, has expressed concerns that the tax will not support the government's goals of preserving the ferrochrome industry and jobs. South Africa, the world's largest exporter of chrome, has seen its ferrochrome production decline, losing its leading position to China, primarily due to high electricity costs. This has resulted in many smelters shutting down operations. To address this, the South African cabinet announced on 26 June 2025 that it had agreed to lower power tariffs for chrome smelters and proposed a tax on chrome ore exports in a move to revitalise the ferrochrome industry. However, the Minerals Council believes that this move would 'have a negative impact on chrome producers and the significant contribution this industry makes to both South Africa's economy and the jobs it sustains and grows.' The chrome sector in South Africa is a significant employer, directly employing 25,000 people and generating R85bn ($4.85bn) in export revenue in 2024. The country exported a record 20.5 million tonnes (mt) of chrome concentrate in 2024, mainly to China. Companies such as Glencore, Tharisa and South32 are key players in the South African chrome mining and processing industry. South African coal and iron ore exporters, including Glencore and a unit of Anglo American, are preparing to sign investment agreements worth billions of rand with Transnet. These agreements, as stated by B4SA's head of transport and logistics Ian Bird, are to repair critical rail lines and enhance shipment capabilities. "South Africa's proposed chrome export tax could lead to job losses" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
IOL News
03-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Mining industry raises alarm over ferrochrome export tax as electricity tariffs receive nod
Chrome mining has been one of the best-performing subsectors of the South African mining sector, with data from Statistics SA showing that chrome production increased by an average of 8.4% between 1994 and 2024 on an inflation adjusted basis. Image: Supplied Tawanda Karombo The Minerals Council of South Africa has raised concerns over the approval by government of an export tax on ferrochrome concentrates and welcomed the Cabinet's adoption of preferential electricity tariffs for ferrochrome smelters. Chrome mining has been one of the best-performing subsectors of the South African mining sector, with data from Statistics SA showing that chrome production increased by an average of 8.4% between 1994 and 2024 on an inflation adjusted basis. This reflects an accelerated pace of growth than the 1.3% recorded for non-gold production in South Africa over the same period. It was against this backdrop that the Minerals Council on Thursday said it was concerned by the approval by Cabinet of an export tax on ferrochrome concentrates. 'A particular concern in the Cabinet statement is the approval of the concept of an export tax on chrome concentrate. There remains no reason why export taxes would support increased beneficiation in South Africa now,' said the Council in a statement. The tax has previously been raised by government but extensive engagements with the chrome mining sector players resulted in the proposal being set aside. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ South Africa's chrome mining sector, said the Minerals Council, has consistently contributed to employment, with export volumes of the mineral topping 20.5 million tons in 2024. South Africa earned R84.6 billion in export revenue from chrome last year. Despite this employment and export earning potential, South African producers are increasingly mothballing chrome smelters, citing high electricity costs that are rendering them poorly competitive in the face of stiff competition from Chinese smelters. China has been able to offer its chrome smelters incentives, including lower electricity costs. South African producers have also recently battled erratic electricity supply although the government has moved in to address this by approving a preferential tariff for ferroalloy smelters. 'As a consequence of electricity prices increasing by nearly 900% in the past two decades, South Africa's chrome industry has opted to export chrome concentrate rather than beneficiate it at a loss.' The Minerals Council has welcome the Cabinet announcement on preferential electricity tariffs for ferrochrome smelters. This forms part of the government's measures in addressing the key factors that has rendered South Africa's ferrochrome industry uncompetitive. The use of Special Economic Zones to give the industry tax breaks has also been described as welcome. However, the mining industry employers' organisation said 'the details remain lacking, requiring extensive consultations with the government to understand these proposals and which industries will benefit' from the measures. 'To the extent that it prevents illegal exports of chrome, the Minerals Council welcomes the proposal to require all chrome exporters to obtain permits from the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa,' said the Council. 'However, we would strongly oppose any suggestion that such a system be expanded or used to impose export quotas or restrictions on legally mined chrome.' South Africa, a major mining hub in the region, has identified platinum, manganese, iron ore, coal, and chrome ore as 'high-critical minerals' under the new Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy. It has also classified commodities such as gold, vanadium, palladium, rhodium, and rare earth elements as minerals with moderate to high criticality while copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel, titanium, phosphate, fluorspar, zirconium, uranium, and aluminium were identified as minerals with moderate criticality. BUSINESS REPORT
Reuters
03-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
South African miners say proposed chrome export tax threatens jobs
July 3 (Reuters) - South Africa's proposed chrome ore export tax will hurt miners' profitability and lead to job losses across the sector, the country's Minerals Council has said. Africa's most advanced economy is the world's biggest exporter of chrome, which is mostly used in the manufacture of stainless steel. South Africa also used to be the biggest global producer of ferrochrome, a combination of chrome and iron, but lost that pole position to China, mostly due to high electricity costs which have forced many smelters to shut. On June 26, South Africa's cabinet announced it had agreed to lower power tariffs for chrome smelters as well as a proposal to impose a tax on chrome ore exports as part of efforts to stop the decline of the ferrochrome industry. The Minerals Council South Africa, which represents the country's biggest miners, said in a statement the tax "would not achieve the government's aims of sustaining the ferrochrome industry and the preservation of jobs". It would instead "have a negative impact on chrome producers and the significant contribution this industry makes to both South Africa's economy and the jobs it sustains and grows". South Africa's chrome sector directly employs 25,000 people and earned the country 85 billion rand ($4.85 billion) in export revenue in 2024, according to the Minerals Council. It exported a record 20.5 million metric tons of chrome concentrate in 2024, mostly to China, the world's biggest importer of the commodity. Companies mining and processing chrome in South Africa include Glencore (GLEN.L), opens new tab, Tharisa Plc (THST.L), opens new tab and South32 ( opens new tab. ($1 = 17.5148 rand)
