Mining.com, in its July 18, 2012 article, reports that Gold discoveries are not keeping pace with mined production.
Extract :
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Metals Economics Group’s (MEG) recently
released study, Strategies for Gold Reserves Replacement: The Costs of Finding
and Acquiring Gold, reports that 99 significant gold discoveries (defined as
a deposit containing at least 2 million oz of gold)
have been reported so far in the 1997-2011 period, containing 743 million oz of gold in reserves, resources, and past production as
of year-end 2011. Assuming a 75% resource-conversion rate and a 90% recovery
rate during production, these 99 discoveries could potentially replace only
56% of the estimated gold mined during the same period, if they are
economical to mine. Then again, the economic viability of the discovered gold
relies to a large extent on location, politics, capital and operating costs,
and market conditions, which will inevitably further reduce the amount of
resources that will reach production.
The Americas hold the greatest share of gold in
these discoveries—not surprising given that the Americas have accounted
for more than half the industry’s discovery-oriented gold exploration
spending during the period. Overall, reserves and resources in the 99 discoveries
only account for about 18% of all reserves and resources in the world’s
currently producing mines and developing projects, indicating that most of
the industry’s exploration-derived gold has been added through
brownfields work and exploration at older, known deposits.
Gold in Reserves, Resources, and Past
Production in Major Gold Discoveries
by Country, 1997-2011
(Total Reserves,
Resources, and Past Production of 743 million oz of
gold)
 
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