RE: : Coping With Risk and UncertaintyMines produced record $4.9B in '06 IT ONLY WILL GET BETTER
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 1:03 PM PST
CARSON CITY (AP) - Nevada mines rode soaring gold and silver prices to produce a record $4.9 billion worth of minerals last year.
A report by the state Division of Minerals said gold sales fueled about $3.8 billion of the total.
In a separate report, University of Nevada, Reno, economist John Dobra said the primary reason for the increase in gold prices has been the steadily declining value of the U.S. dollar relative to the euro and other currencies. That makes gold a valuable hedge for investors.
In the Division of Minerals report, Alan Coyner and Doug Driesner said Nevada had known reserves of 84.2 million ounces of gold at the end of 2006.
During 2006, Nevada mines produced 6.3 million ounces of gold, 8.5 million ounces of silver and 127.6 million pounds of copper.