Experts of the analytical Metals Focus Company, which is engaged in the study of the market of precious metals, discuss whether the world gold mining has reached its peak, and when the decline in production will begin.
At the present time we can see the facts which prove both the decline and the growth of production. For example, 2017 saw a new record of gold production in the world, although the increase was only 3 tons, compared with 2016. However, the world gold mining could have been greater by the end of 2017 if China hadn’t declined the production of the yellow precious metal by 7% due to new requirements for the protection of the environment.
However, a negative factor is the reduction in the number of new fields that have been put into operation in recent years. 11 fields entered the production phase during 2011-2013, but 2014-2016 witnessed a decrease in their number to 5. According to experts, 20 new gold deposits were put into operation last year. Is last year an exception?
Metals Focus predicts that gold production will grow only by 0.1% in 2018. According to analysts, there will have been a reduction in a number of new projects for the production of yellow precious metal by 2020. The existing fields will move into the phase of production reduction. The total gold production in the world will be by 1.7% less than in 2017.
The review states that the depleted gold deposits were compensated in 2017 with the help of available reserves. Therefore, there is a high probability of increasing the production of yellow precious metal in the long term. Experts expect the growth of gold production in Russia, Canada, Burkina Faso, Congo, Mauritania and Mongolia. China, on the contrary, should not expect a return to the previous volumes of production of precious metals.
