Surbiton Associates in its latest survey of the Australian gold sector notes rising production during the June quarter.
LONDON – The world’s second largest gold mining nation, Australia, saw gold output rise in the June quarter according to a survey by Melbourne-based consultancy, Surbiton Associates.
Gold production for the period totalled some 72 tonnes (2.31 million ounces), an increase of almost three tonnes or four per cent over the March 2015 quarter. With most Australian miners having June year-ends, Surbiton puts the fiscal year total (to end-June) at 285 tonnes.
In Mineweb’s analysis of global gold output in calendar 2014, derived from figures from London-based consultancy Metals Focus, China was the world’s leading producer that year with annual output of 462 tonnes with Australia second, just ahead of Russia, with a little over 272 tonnes.
So the latest Surbiton figures suggest Australian gold output could well be heading strongly higher in calendar 2015. (See: Gold’s top 20 – mines, miners and countries). China is also believed to be producing more gold this year than last.
This bears out the view that lower gold prices are not yet having a diminishing effect on total world gold output, which is seen as continuing to rise in 2015, perhaps plateauing next year. However such rises are perhaps more than being balanced out by a continuing fall in production from scrap.
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