South Africa’s mining output slips 0.2% in August as gold and platinum drag production down [SOUND]

# Statistics South Africa says mining production fell slightly by 0.2-percent in August. The biggest declines were seen in platinum group metals, gold, and manganese ore, while coal was the only major positive performer, rising by just over four-percent. Stats SA’s Juan-Pierre Terblanche says despite lower output, mineral sales surged by 23-percent year-on-year, driven mainly by gold, which jumped more than 470-percent, and platinum group metals, up 44-percent: