Gold Mining Producers See Costs Rise 19%

AVERAGE total cash costs faced by Gold Mining producers rose by 19% in the first six months of the year, a leading precious metals consultancy revealed this week.

Miners' cash costs per ounce of Gold Bullion were on average $727 in the first half of 2012 – up from $643 in 2011 – according to Thomson Reuters GFMS, which published its 'Gold Survey 2012 – Update 1' on Tuesday.

GFMS's proprietary measure off all-in Gold Mining costs, which includes indirect overheads as well as direct on-site costs, rose to $1050 per ounce – slightly above the $1044 per ounce recorded in 2011.

Global Gold Mining supply meantime was 1366 tonnes in the six months to the end of June – a gain of 0.1% from the same period last year – but is expected to rise to 1482 tonnes in H2 2012 for 1.7% year-on-year gain, GFMS said.

In April, GFMS global head of metals analytics Philip Klapwijk said Gold Mining was entering a "new era", and that the industry was now "in growth mode".

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