Gold mining in world becomes more difficult

By Alimat Aliyeva

In the gold mining industry, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain production growth as potential areas are already being exploited, making it difficult to find new gold mines around the world, Azernews reports.

This was announced by John Reed, chief market strategist at the World Gold Council (WGC). He added: "The fact is that since 2008, that is, after a 10-year boom, the gold mining industry has been struggling to maintain production growth.

According to Reed, gold production in 2023 increased by only 0.5 percent compared to the previous year. Large-scale gold mining requires a lot of capital and extensive exploration work. The mine has been producing for an average of 10-20 years. Even during exploration, the probability of exploitation is less.

The WGC strategist notes that only about 10 percent of the gold mines discovered in the world have sufficient reserves to develop them. According to him, about 187 thousand tons of gold have been mined in the world today. Most of them are located in China, South Africa and Australia. According to the US Geological Survey, recoverable gold reserves currently amount to only 57,000 tons.

Another problem is that many mining projects are located in remote locations with poor infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water supply, resulting in high operating costs. John Reed said in this regard: "It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a place, apply for licenses, secure financial resources and manage new mines."
Due to demand in China, gold prices on the global market have been steadily rising over the past few months and have reached a peak. Last month, the price reached an all-time high of $2,450 per ounce. Currently, the price of gold is about $2,294.