According to the World Gold Council, by the end of 2019, less yellow precious metal was mined in the world compared to the previous 2018. In China, which is the world leader in this indicator, production has been declining for the third year in a row.
According to the WGC, last year a decline in gold production in the world was recorded - this was the first time since 2008. This is stated in the annual review of the gold market, which is published by the end of each year. The review provides data on all segments of the gold market, including its mining, production, demand and processing. WGC analysts take data for their review from the results of market research by analytical companies Metal Focus and GFMS.
According to the survey, gold production in the world decreased by -1% last year to 3463.7 tons (a year earlier it was 3509.3 tons). The decrease occurred against the backdrop of an increase in the global cost of precious metals over the past 12 months. As previously reported, in 2019 the growth in the price of gold amounted to + 18% in US dollars, and in euros + 22%. Due to the high cost of yellow precious metals, mining companies can invest part of the profit in the development of hard-to-reach deposits.
The results of the 4th quarter of 2019 showed a decrease in gold production in the world by -2% to 889.5 tons. The smallest amount of precious metal was mined in this quarter since 2016. According to the World Gold Council, in each quarter of last year, there was a decrease in production by compared to 2018
However, it is worth saying that in some countries the opposite trend occurred. For example, gold production in Russia in 2019 increased by + 8%. This is mainly due to the commissioning of new fields. In Australia, production growth was + 3%. Already existing mines have shown good results. But Turkey was able to increase the production of yellow precious metals by + 66%. In China, which is the leader in this indicator, production decreased by -6%. The decline in indicators is recorded in this country for the third year in a row.