Gold’s dwindling pipeline of new mines is poised
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Mine supply may fall about a third in the 10 years to 2025, according to Bloomberg calculations based on forecasts from BMO Capital Markets and Randgold Resources Ltd. The number of newly discovered primary gold deposits fell to three in 2014, from a peak of 37 in 1987, according to Melbourne-based industry adviser MinEx Consulting Pty.
Gold production may peak in the next three years as miners fail to replace their reserves, Randgold’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said in September. And, according to Goldcorp’s Telfer, producers have limited scope to raise output in response to higher prices. “We are having a heck of a time finding gold,” he said.
The metal is up 16 percent this year, rebounding from three straight annual declines. Gold may average $1,500 an ounce by 2020, according to an August note from BMI Research.
“Once supply from mines starts to decline and people start to realize the impact that’s going to have, I think it’s going to be incredibly bullish for gold,” Telfer said in the interview last week in Melbourne. “If gold went to $2,500 an ounce tomorrow, Goldcorp’s production wouldn’t change for the next four years. It can’t react to a change.”