Diamonds And Platinum Boost South African Export Earnings

South Africa’s earnings from mineral exports last year were up 10 percent on 2002 due to an increase in the production of platinum and diamonds, the department of minerals and energy said.

Earnings from exports totaled 75 billion rand ($11.25 billion) while the total production value of the goods jumped 18 percent to $15.33 billion. South Africa is the world's largest producer of precious metals.

When measured in rand, however, exports fell 19 percent on the year while total production fell 14 percent, the minerals department said. The rand soared 25 percent against the dollar last year, making exports more expensive.

Although South African mining firms such as Anglo American Platinum and other platinum miners increased their output to take advantage of rising metal demand, profits were cut by the strong rand.

Meanwhile, the country’s diamond production climbed 18 percent to an all-time high of 12.87 million carats as De Beers boosted production.