The South African lockdown saw a major contraction in the mining sector. According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) the mining sector shrunk by a whopping 47% in April, the first full month of lockdown. The previous month had seen a decline of 18%.
Business Day notes that the decline would have been even sharper but coal mines were kept open, and mines were permitted to open up at 50% capacity from 16 April.
Although mining’s importance to the South African economy has been declining for some time it is still the country’s most valuable export.
South Africa was one of the few major mining countries that effectively closed down its mining sector. Said PWC’s Andries Rossouw: ‘A lot of countries simply said they couldn’t afford to close the mining industry, that it was a big revenue generator and must continue. We were one of the countries where the industry was one of the most severely affected by the lockdown — but the reality is we have a number of deep-level, labour-intensive gold and platinum mines and they couldn’t continue.’
Only about half of South Africa’s miners are back at work, according to the Minerals Council with full production levels only likely to be reached in September.