Latest mining results for South Africa have revealed an increase in overall output, driven by the production of pgm.

Figures show that production was up by 5.7 per cent year on year in February and pgm production increased by 3.4 per cent.

The information from Statistics SA (Stats SA) is collected through a survey by the minerals bureau of all SA's mining establishments.

Efficient Group economist, Nico Kelder, told Business Day: "The mining sector, once again excluding gold, seems to be benefiting from the global economic upturn. The stronger currency did not dampen the demand for South African mining products.

"Two of the three largest mining products of SA, coal and platinum, are expected to continue to perform well in the future as their applications make them irreplaceable, thus keeping demand high."

Additional findings revealed total mining sales were valued at R10.06 billion in January, up 2.6 per cent, with the majority of sales coming from non-gold mining.