IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

Income

The total income for the mining industry in 2022 was R906,7 billion. The total income represents an increase of 21,2% per annum compared with the income reported in the corresponding survey of 2019 (R509,8 billion). ‘Mining of platinum group metal ore’ earned the largest share of income (R373,2 billion or 41,2%), followed by ‘mining of coal and lignite’ (R198,9 billion or 21,9%) and ‘mining of iron ore’ (R119,2 billion or 13,2%).

Comparing 2019 and 2022, large increases were reported for ‘mining of platinum group metal ore’ (+R230,5 billion), ‘mining of iron ore’ (+R58,6 billion) and ‘mining of coal and lignite’ (+R54,2 billion).

Between 2012 and 2022, the ‘mining of platinum group metal ore’ group gained the biggest percentage share of income (+14,0 percentage points) (from a percentage contribution of 27,2% in 2012 to 41,2% in 2022). The ‘mining of gold and uranium ore’ group lost the biggest percentage share of income over the same period (‑8,0 percentage points), followed by the ‘mining of iron ore’ group (‑4,1 percentage points) and the ‘mining of coal and lignite’ group (‑2,5 percentage points).

Employment

The total number of persons employed in the mining industry as at the end of June 2022 was 423 829. This represents an increase of 0,5% per annum compared with the employment recorded in 2019. In 2022, ‘mining of platinum group metal ore’ employed the largest number of persons (148 388 or 35,1%), followed by ‘mining of coal and lignite’ (95 863 or 22,6%) and ‘mining of gold and uranium ore’ (88 451 or 20,9%).

Employment in the mining industry declined from 538 144 in 2012 to 423 829 in 2022 (a loss of 114 315 jobs). The biggest losses in jobs were recorded in ‘mining of platinum group metal ore’ (a loss of 58 376 jobs), ‘mining of gold and uranium ore’ (a loss of 55 633 jobs) and ‘mining of chrome ore’ (a loss of 5 793 jobs). The biggest gains in jobs were recorded in ‘mining of coal and lignite’ (a gain of 4 258 jobs), ‘other mining activities and service activities incidental to mining’ (a gain of 3 841 jobs) and ‘mining of diamonds (including alluvial diamonds)’ (a gain of 2 401 jobs).

Provincial estimates

The province with the largest income from sales of goods in the mining industry in 2022 was Limpopo with R237,7 billion (or 27,3% of the industry total). The province with the second largest income from sales of goods was North West (R193,1 billion or 22,2%), followed by Mpumalanga (R173,0 billion or 19,9%) and Northern Cape (R155,2 billion or 17,9%).

The largest contributor to salaries and wages was also Limpopo (R30,7 billion or 23,5%), followed by Mpumalanga (R29,8 billion or 22,8%), North West (R28,4 billion or 21,6%) and Gauteng (R18,3 billion or 14,0%).