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Johannesburg - Total primary mineral sales in South Africa, the world's biggest producer of gold and platinum, rose 14.1% to R142.8bn last year, mainly due to higher prices, the mining ministry said on Wednesday.
"The rise in mineral revenue is attributed to significant increases in most commodity prices, with cadmium and rhodium escalating the most in percentage terms," the ministry's Mineral Economics Bulletin said.
Platinum group metals (PGMs) were the top earner in 2005, contributing R38.5bn with coal at R35.6bn and gold at R24.6bn, it added.
South Africa's gold output fell 13.4% to 294.8 tons last year while PGM production rose by 9.6% to 302.9 tons, the ministry said.
Diamond production achieved another record level last year, rising 9.3% to 15.8 million carats with the value estimated at $1.7bn, but it said sales figures for diamonds were classified.
