Page 39 - Bullion World Volume 04 Issue 07 July 2023

Bullion World | Volume 3 | Issue 7 | July 2023

GLOBAL impacted by higher sustaining capital at least four consecutive months.

The agency added that oil and gas
spending and lower gold sales
volumes.
extraction (except oil sands) led
MINING Newcrest sits fourth with AISC of the growth with a 2.1% expansion
in April 2023 following a tepid start
$1,021/oz (including by-product to the year. “Crude petroleum
news B2Gold is fifth with total AISC the increase as increased production
credits) in 2022.
extraction contributed the most to
off Canada's North Atlantic coast
(including estimated attributable
results for Calibre) of $1,033 per more than offset lower crude
production in the west. Natural gas
ounce sold in 2022, within the extraction, led by Alberta, continued
company's guidance range of to expand, reflecting continued
The following is the list of the top 10 $1,010 to $1,050 per ounce sold natural gas storage replenishment,”
lowest cost gold mining companies and 16% higher than 2021 due StatsCan said. Oil sands extraction
in 2022 calendar year among the top to lower production and inflation edged down 0.1%, while support
20 largest primary gold producers driven higher input costs, including activities for mining and oil and gas
worldwide measured by output. higher fuel unit prices and other extraction (+4.6%) grew for the
consumables prices. third consecutive month, largely
The ranking used all-in sustaining due to increases in both rigging and
costs (AISC) metric that serves as Canada's mining, quarrying, and drilling activity in April. Importantly,
a globally accepted benchmark of a oil and gas extraction expands for according to the report, Canada’s
mine’s operating efficiency. fourth consecutive month mining and quarrying (except oil and
gas extraction) subsector expanded
Australia’s Evolution Mining was According to Statistics Canada 0.8% in April. “A 2.4% increase in
the lowest cost gold producer (StatsCan), the domestic mining, non-metallic mineral mining and
among the top 20 largest gold quarrying, and oil and gas extraction quarrying contributed the most
miners in 2022, with AISC of $849/ sector grew 1.2% in April as all to the subsector's growth, led by
oz (including by-product credits). subsectors were up. This was the potash mining (+2.3%). Coal mining
fourth consecutive month of growth (+5.2%) further contributed to the

Endeavour Mining sits second. The in the sector. StatsCan said that growth in the subsector, coinciding
company’s consolidated AISC from Canada’s oil and gas extraction with monthly increases in both rail
continuing operations amounted subsector rose 0.8% in April. This is carloadings and higher exports of
to $928/oz in 2022, an increase of the first time since the fall of 2021 the commodity to South Korea,” the
7% over 2021, primarily due to the that the subsector increased in agency said.
industry-wide inflationary pressures.

With AISC of $981/oz, Russian
gold miner Polyus is third. The
company's AISC increased by 37%
y-o-y compared to 2021 ($715/
oz), primarily due to lower average
grades in ore processed at almost all
hard-rock deposits.

Polyus also noted that the
consumables prices inflation, wage
indexation, and rouble appreciation
have also negatively impacted
the company’s cost performance
in 2022, and those factors were
common to all operations of the
group. In addition, AISC were

39