Gold is getting harder to find as miners struggle to excavate more, World Gold Council says

The
gold
mining
industry
is
struggling
to
sustain
production
growth
as
deposits
of
the
yellow
metal
become
harder
to
find,
according
to
the
World
Gold
Council.

“We’ve
seen
record
first
quarter
mine
production
in
2024
up
4%
year
on
year.
But
the
bigger
picture,
I
think
about
mine
production
is
that,
effectively,
it
plateaued
around
2016,
2018
and
we’ve
seen
no
growth
since
then,”
WGC
Chief
Market
Strategist
John
Reade
said.

According
to

data
from
the
international
trade
association,
mine
production
inched
up
only
0.5%
in
2023
compared
to
a
year
ago.

In
2022,
the
growth
was
1.35%
year
on
year,
the
year
before
it
was
2.7%,
while
in
2020,
global
gold
production
logged
the
first
decline
in
a
decade,
sliding
1%.

“I
think
the
overwhelming
story
there
is:
after
10
years
of
rapid
growth
from
around
2008,
the
mining
industry
is
struggling
to
report
sustained
growth
in
production,”
said
Reade.

New
gold
deposits
are
becoming
harder
to
find
around
the
world
as
many
prospective
areas
have
already
been
explored,
he
elaborated.

Large-scale
gold
mining
is
capital-intensive,
and
requires
significant
exploration
and
development,
taking
an
average
of
10
to
20
years
before
a
mine
is
ready
for
production,
according
to
WGC.

Even
during
the
exploration
process,
the
likelihood
of
a
discovery
progressing
into
the
development
of
a
mine
is
low,
with
only
about
10%
of
global
gold
discoveries
containing
sufficient
metal
to
warrant
mining.

Around
187,000
metric
tons
of
gold
has
been
mined
to
date,
with
the

majority
coming
from
China,
South
Africa
and
Australia.
Gold
reserves
that
can
be
excavated
are
estimated
at
around
57,000
tonnes,

according
to
the
United
States
Geological
Survey.

Aside
from
the
discovery
process,
government
permits
getting
harder
to
secure
and
requiring
more
time
to
come
through
have
made
mining
more
difficult,
Reade
added.
Securing
licenses
and
permits
needed
before
mining
companies
can
start
operations

can
take
several
years.

Additionally,
many
mining
projects
are
planned
for
remote
areas
that
require
infrastructure
such
as
roads,
power,
and
water,
resulting
in
added
costs
in
building
these
mines
and
financing
operations,
Reade
said.

“It’s
getting
harder
to
find
gold,
permit
it,
finance
it,
and
operate
it,”
he
said.

Gold
prices
are
taking
a
breather
after

rallying
to
record
highs
in
recent
months
bolstered
by
strong
demand
led
by
China.


Spot
gold
is
currently
trading
at
$2,294.3
per
ounce.