Global gold mine production growth is set to rebound in the coming years due to higher prices and mergers between major mining firms, pushing Russia, Australia, and Canada as major players to overtake China, research agency Fitch Solutions said in a report, according to MiningWeekly.com.
The analyst firm expects Russia to overtake China as the largest gold miner, with an accelerating output growth underpinned by a buoyed domestic demand.
The country’s output was forecast to climb from 11.3 million ounces this year to 15.5 million ounces in 2029, representing an average annual growth of 3.7 per cent.
“In the longer term, we expect (Russian) gold production to be supported by a healthy project pipeline,” Fitch Solutions stated. “This would see Russia overtake China as the largest gold miner, accounting for 11.7 per cent of global output by 2029, compared to 10.4 per cent in 2020.”
China’s gold production, meanwhile, was forecast to remain roughly stagnant during the next decade.
The country could experience a projected average growth rate of 0.1 per cent a year, marking a notable slowdown compared with the average annual growth of 2.7 per cent over the previous decade.
Fitch Solutions forecasts global gold production to increase from 107-million ounces this year to 132-million ounces by 2029, averaging a yearly growth rate of 2.4%.
