Newcrest posts 17 percent gold output decline

The largest gold mining company in Australia has confirmed that its output fell by 17 percent over the course of the third quarter of the 2009 financial year.

Newcrest Mining revealed that gold production was 364,794 ounces for the three months to March 31st, in comparison to the figure of 441,341 recorded 12 months earlier.

The Melbourne-based company has largely attributed the decline to lower ore grade and increased waste removal at its Cadia Hill, where output fell by 45 percent.

"There is lower grade coming out of Cadia Hill pit as part of the cutback three area that we are currently mining," said chief executive officer Ian Smith.

"We're also right at the bottom of the sub-level cave zone at Ridgeway, which brings with it commensurate drops in grades of both copper and gold."

However, the news will undoubtedly be welcomed by anyone with a Gold Investment, as lower production on a large scale will eventually lead to higher Gold Prices.

The news comes after South African firm Harmony Gold Mining, the world's fifth-largest producer of the yellow metal, revealed last week that it also experienced a decline in output in the third quarter of 2009.

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