Gold mining exploration in world No.2 producer Australia is picking up according to new statistics, but global output is set to flat-line or decline in 2017 as lower exploration spending means fewer new projects will come on stream, writes German analyst Steffen Grosshauser at BullionVault.
Global gold mining exploration funding sank by two-thirds in the 5 years to 2015.
Across the first quarter of 2017, that meant "mine production of 764 tonnes was little changed from Q1 last year (767.8t)," writes the mining-backed World Gold Council in its latest Gold Demand Trends report, "supporting our view that production will remain broadly steady before tailing off."
"Having plateaued in recent years, mine production will soon enter a period of decline," add the WGC's analysts.
"The growth rate has roughly halved every year for the last three years, partly as output from new mines has slowed and we expect production to contract in 2017," agree the precious metals analysts at research firm Thomson Reuters GFMS in their Gold Survey 2017.
The collapse of commodity prices starting a half-decade ago led the industry to cut spending on exploration from a record of US$6 billion in 2012 to less than $2 billion in 2015.
What's more, gold-mine explorers had to spend more money to find new deposits, with cost-cutting forcing a drop in so-called 'greenfield' exploration of new territory, with a stronger focus on expanding existing projects and known deposits, says the Financial Times.
Source: Bullion Vault
