GOLD OUTPUT LOWEST IN 60 YEARSGold output lowest in 60 years
David McKay
Posted: Thu, 24 Feb 2005
[miningmx.com] -- GOLD supply fell 13% in 2004 compared to 2003 recording the sharpest fall in mine production since the 1940s, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in its annual review. Gold production, which totalled 2,478 tonnes in 2004, recovered slightly in the fourth quarter of 2004, however, owing to improved production from Grasberg, a large gold mine in Indonesia. The fourth quarter also benefited from a number of new mines, the WGC said.
Gold mining companies continued to allow their hedging programmes to unravel without renewing them. “De-hedging was high throughout 2004, 59% higher than in 2003,” the WGC said. Scrap supply was 14% lower in the fourth quarter “... continuing the trend evident in the first three quarters of the year,” it said.