http://www.smh.com.au/business/newcrest-weighs-up-future-of-mines-20130423-2icva.html#ixzz2RKCUaQzB Newcrest Mining is reviewing the future of some of its mines, as the recent plunge in the gold price continues to take a toll on the nation's fourth-biggest mineral export industry. Newcrest was one of several ASX-listed goldminers to reveal March-quarter results on Tuesday, and the publication of production costs revealed that numerous mines across Australasia are unprofitable at current gold prices. While Newcrest's biggest mines are low cost, its portfolio includes stakes in high-cost mines such as Papua New Guinea's Hidden Valley, which the company owns in partnership with Harmony Gold. Tuesday's report revealed that ''all in'' costs for the mine were $2268 an ounce during the March quarter; drastically higher than the $US1410 that gold was fetching on Tuesday evening. Newcrest said a program to improve performance and ''assess the future'' of the mine was under way with ''considerable focus''. Advertisement The Telfer mine in Western Australia is also becoming expensive to run, with production costs of $1573 an ounce in the March quarter. In what sounded like a portent to divesting certain assets, Newcrest said it would take action to ''simplify and reduce activity'' across its business. ''With its major projects ramping up and the more challenging external environment, Newcrest continues to review all of its business activities, particularly those related to higher cost current or future production,'' the company said. ''The company is focused on creating a strong return from our major investments in expanded lower cost production sources and generating free cash flow.'' Newcrest revealed it had already axed 150 jobs from its Melbourne and Brisbane offices as part of a cost-cutting regime. While Newcrest shares lost more than 3 per cent of their value, mid-tier gold producer St Barbara was the gold sector's worst performer, losing almost 14 per cent of its value after downgrading its production guidance. The miner conceded it would produce about 3 per cent less gold than forecast in the year to June 30. St Barbara said it had reassessed all its mines in the wake of the gold price slump over the past fortnight, and expects all can survive assuming a price of at least $US1400 an ounce. St Barbara's Golden Ridge mine in the Solomon Islands produced at a cost of $1393 an ounce during the March quarter, which after currency conversion is more than the $US1410 that gold was fetching on Tuesday evening. Several of the company's other mines are producing on very thin margins at current gold prices. Evolution Mining shares fell more than 6 per cent after the company revealed an ''all-in'' production cost of $1353 an ounce during the March quarter. Over the full year to date, Evolution's all in costs are $1212 an ounce.
Tanami just moth-balled the Cyote mine. Just months back some of the senior bosses did the runner. That mine's got plenty of gold but it's just too expensive to get out of the ground.
All too complicated for me "thatguy" just buy what you can afford. Besides all part of the Psyops to make sure that those who are not awake will not buy.
Tanami has put their Coyote mine site into care & maintenance...with a 100,000 oz ore body 850m away from existing mining areas & a fully functional & operational mine site... The share price has been manipulated down over the last few months with capital raising etc...which was used to pay off the company debt...& the whole thing put on ice... Of course this is just the conspiracy theorist in me coming out...
Great drill results, great workers but the cost!!! Oh my...they just didn't have the cash flow from production. Sad really! Graeme Sloan did a good job, shame more people didn't listen to him. Graeme was a survivor from when mining was doing it hard in 96>>> H
Coyote by itself was doing OK...the Central Tanami project was the black hole, 4 drill rigs going flat out for over a year producing nothing... Graeme Sloan...no comment...
Newmont 24 July 2013 Gold producer Newmont Mining has cut 29 jobs at the Granites mine in the Tanami Desert of the Northern Territory since the start of June. The gold price, which plummeted 23 per cent in the last quarter, is being blamed for the redundancies, 12 of which were in the last week. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-24/tanami-gold-newmont-granites-jobs/4828830
I worked there in the late 90's when Normandy Poseidon owned it.... trust me, they're doing those sacked workers a favour
Newmont Newmont has made heavy write-offs against its Australian mines - Boddington and Tanami - totalling $US1.5 billion ($1.62 billion) following the slump in the gold price. The group is in the process of cutting its global workforce by a third as it seeks to ensure it can survive with the downturn. http://www.smh.com.au/business/mini...ont-hit-with-16b-writeoff-20130726-2qpcf.html
Goldcorp Goldcorp Inc. reported an enormous net loss of US$1.93-billion in the second quarter after taking a big writedown on the Penasquito mine in Mexico. http://www.theprovince.com/business...loss+Penasquito+impairment/8706400/story.html Goldcorp And Why Gold Miners Are Getting Crushed: Massive Cost Inflation, Dropping Prices *Despite a recent rally in the sector, and in the yellow metal, it'll take dramatically higher prices to push Goldcorp, and the broader sector, into true rally mode. *Cost pressures have been rising despite falling gold prices, and there's little miners can do but to cut costs elsewhere. *Last quarter, Barrick Gold ABX +1.77% maid it painfully clear that miners will face this trend, and Goldcorp reinforced it. *Total cash costs by-product, which controls for the sales costs of by-product silver, copper, and other metals, surged 75% to $646 per gold ounce. *Total cash costs on a co-product basis, which allocates each of the by-product costs in relation to sales, increased 15% to $713. *Goldcorp expects total cash costs of $1,000 to $1,100 per ounce on an all-in sustaining cost basis. http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontev...rushed-massive-cost-inflation-falling-prices/
Every economical activity becomes unprofitable, because the profit is stolen by the fascists to finance their lazy butts and to invest in trouble as to keep alive their excuse to not have to do economical activity in order to buy its fruits.
The question also is what mining&recycling matters in the case gold. It's 2700 tonnes annually. The world gold stock is 60 times that much, with 20% of it in hands of central banks and funds. So the latter alone can totally replace the mining&recycling for over a decade. Silver is another story though. But there alot newbies that buy at any price to then sell low disappointed. I just saw on an auction site ASE's and Maples for sale, 47,5 euro. The price alone tells us the entire story.
The company which operates the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Super Pit has announced a raft of job cuts at the gold mine, blaming poor market conditions for the move. Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mine (KCGM) general manager Russel Cole said current economic conditions forced reviews of all aspects of the operation. The company have also implemented a recruitment freeze. KCGM employs more than 1,000 people. Gold has slipped around 20 per cent this year, forcing extensive layoffs across the gold mining sector. Barrick Gold have cut around 200 jobs from their worldwide operations. Alacer Gold has announced its intent to sell off its Australian assets. Tanami gold have put their Kimberley-based Coyote mine into care and maintenance. Focus Minerals has announced plans to halt operations at its Laverton Gold project as rising costs were making the project unprofitable http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/job-cuts-at-kalgoorlie-s-superpit
Gold was $AU1,600 earlier in the year and things were fine. Now gold is $AU1,480 and its all over? The depreciation $A has mean gold has fallen just 7.5% from its $1,600/oz level but that 7.5% drop means all hell breaks loose?!?! I doubt that small a price drop can be blamed for these mine cutbacks.
See post 14. Rising production costs. http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontev...rushed-massive-cost-inflation-falling-prices/
Some of these mines wouldn't even turn a profit at $2,000/oz, they should be closed. Not all gold deposits are economically recoverable, just like many oil, gas, mineral etc deposits are also not economically recoverable.
