JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's mining output dropped considerably in February, the second consecutive month of decline, Statistics South Africa (SAA) reported on Thursday.

Production of platinum group metals (PGMs) fell 47.6 percent while gold output fell by 11.5 percent in volume terms in February, while total mineral production was down 14.5 percent compared with the same month last year, SSA said in its report.

This followed a 2.5 percent year on year drop in mining output in January after a revised 0.1 percent increase in December.

SSA attributed the drop to the following factors -- a crippling six-week strike at Impala Platinum, the world's biggest platinum mine, and a government safety drive that shut shafts and cut production.

The strike cost Implats 120,000 ounces in lost output and effectively cut 15 percent of global supply for several weeks, according to SSA.

The government has vowed to turn around low mining output through investment and employment.

"To reverse this trend (of lower mining output), we have to plan to boost investment and employment in mining by taking account of five key critical issues," Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel said earlier.

These were policy and regulation, appropriate taxes, boosted infrastructure, government-corporate partnerships, and lowered carbon emissions, according to the minister.