Johannesburg - Copper valued at R259m was stolen during 2010, the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said on Wednesday.
"The annual total cost as measured by the barometer for 2010 was R259m," Sacci said in a statement on its Non-Ferrous Metals (Copper) Theft Barometer.
This was followed by a spike in January 2011 to R20.5m and a return in February 2011 to the level of R16.5m.
The barometer reflects the experiences of Transnet, Telkom
[JSE:TKG], and Eskom on a current and projected basis and covers the six months preceding the date of the release.
The indicator shows replacement costs but not indirect costs such as security to protect infrastructure.