According to the World Gold Council the gold mining industry is battling to sustain production growth as deposits of this metal become harder to find, as many prospective areas have already been explored. The international trade association data analysis has found that mine production inched up only 0.5% in 2023 compared to a year ago.
In addition to the discovery process, gold mines’ government permits are getting harder to secure and become time consuming to come through adding additional pressures to mining operation. To add on that many mining projects are planned for remote areas that require infrastructure works (i.e. roads, power, and water) resulting in added costs.
The increasing demand – especially from China – combined with the difficulties in gold mining have led to the record highs of gold prize observed over the last months.