Harare, (New Ziana) – Mineral production in the country surged by slightly over 20 percent in the third quarter, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) has said.
In a report on mineral output in the months of July, August and September 2024, ZIMSTAT said the Index of Mineral Production for the period stood at 169.2, reflecting a year-on-year percentage increase of 20.1 compared to the previous period when the index stood at 139.9.
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development compiles the data.
The quarter-on-quarter comparison shows a 5.9 percent increase in the index from 159.8 recorded in the 2nd quarter with the gold output of 156.3 reflecting a quarter-on-quarter percentage increase of 32.3 from 118.2 recorded during the second quarter.
The year-on-year comparison for gold shows an increase in the index of 22.7 percent from 127.4 recorded in 3rd quarter 2023.
The platinum output index for the 3rd quarter 2024 was 145.8 reflecting a year-on-year increase of 3.2 percent, from the 3rd quarter 2023 value of 141.3. For platinum, the quarter-on-quarter analysis shows a 12.6 percent increase in the index from the second quarter’s 129.5.
Diamond recorded an output index of 267.5 in the 3rd quarter, compared to 222.4 in the 3rd quarter of 2023.
The year-on-year comparison shows an increase in the index of 20.3 percent.
Quarter-on-quarter analysis shows a percentage increase of 4.7 percent, from 255.4 in 2nd quarter 2024.
Coal recorded an output index of 410.5, an increase of 26.3 percent from 325.1 recorded in the third quarter of 2023.
Quarter-on-quarter analysis shows a percentage increase of 10.4, from 371.9 recorded in 2nd quarter 2024. The 3rd quarter 2024 output index for copper was 166.8.
The year-on-year index analysis shows a decrease of 14.8 percent, as production went down from 4 162mt in 3rd quarter 2023 to 3 547mt during the quarter under review.
The quarter-on-quarter comparison recorded a 19.8 percent decrease in the output index from 139.3 recorded in 2nd quarter 2024.
Lithium production index for 3rd quarter 2024 was 2,184.1, depicting a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent from 2,055.2 in 3rd quarter 2023.
The 3rd quarter production index for granite stood at 1 279.4, recording a year-on-year percentage increase of 437.5 compared to the 2023 third quarter’s 230.1.
Nickel output index was 87.6, reflecting a year-on-year comparison decrease of 16.6 percent from 105 recorded in last year’s 3rd quarter.
The quarter-on-quarter comparison shows a percentage increase of 2.9, attributed to an increase in production from 3 761mt in 2nd quarter 2024 to 3 873mt in the third quarter.
But copper balked the trend, registering a year-year output drop of 14.8 percent between the third quarters of last year and this year.
In volume terms, the decline was from 4 162mt in the third quarter of 2023 to 3 547mt this year. The index for the mineral stood at 166.8.
New Ziana