LONDON (Scrap Register): Global gold mine production rose fractionally to 3,268.7 ton in last year, the highest annual total in the series of World Gold Council.
According to World Gold Council, gold mine production finished 2017 by falling 2% y-o-y to 833.1t in Q4. This resulted in overall annual mine production of 3,268.7t – fractionally higher compared to 2016 – and the highest annual total in our records.
New gold mine starts in recent years have mostly served to fill the gap left by production losses elsewhere, which has led to a relative plateauing in global output.
Familiar issues in China and Tanzania continued to impact production in Q4. In China – the world’s largest producer – Q4 saw another y-o-y decline; national production dropped 10%. Provisionally, 2017 output is expected to be 9% lower than 2016, only the second annual drop in production since 1980.
Stricter environmental regulations – relating to cyanide in tailings – imposed earlier this year resulted in the closing of some marginal operations in 2017, negatively impacting overall output. One of the key messages in President Xi’s report at China’s 19th Communist Party Congress was the implementation of the strictest possible environmental protections.
Tanzanian mine production fell 15% y-o-y in Q4. The ongoing concentrate exports ban – introduced in March – continues to impact output from Acacia Mining’s Buzwagi project, while the company is also in the process of reducing operations at its primary Bulyanhulu project to help manage losses.
