The mapping of the gold mines is changing rapidly

The mapping of the gold mines is changing rapidly. The South Africa absolute supremacy is now part of the past. Mine production of gold in that country had peaked at 1 million tonnes in 1975. Since this woodpecker, it has suffered continuous erosion which divided it by five, to 200 tons in 2009. Several reasons led to the fall: Aging mines to the quality of the ore in withdrawal; chronic difficulties in the management of labour and costs, with its long procession of strikes and labour unrest, and a currency in which expressed spending - rand - evolving too often in the opposite direction to the dollar, the unit of account of the price of gold. The bull cycle of the course of the yellow metal that lasts ten years was not enough to restore the South African gold industry. Accordingly, new players have emerged.

China, which in 2007 was delighted to South Africa the first places in the classification of producer countries. While the Chinese have a growing appetite for the more popular of the precious, the mines of the former Empire of middle put overdrive to meet domestic demand. Application that could exceed 450 tons this year, against almost 396 in 2008, according to the Association Chinese gold. The same source announces that the mining supply is also reported in increase from one year to the other: 310 tons in 2009, against 282 last year. Another source, VM Group, table on Chinese production in 2009, less than 300 tons (296,1 tonnes), volume still up 5 on an annual basis.

The Australia second place

Another large producer countries, the Australia is well placed to take the second step of the world ranking of gold. Economists at Surbiton Associates indicated that their countries will find this ranking this year. Rank that he had to yield in 2006 in the United States and China in 2007. In the first half, the Australia has delivered 112 tonnes of yellow metal, reveals Surbiton Associates. VM Group fixed 230 tons the objective for the full year, or 5 more than in 2008. Objective entirely consistent with known data from the first six months of 2009.

The South Africa has all chances to exceed also by the Russia. VM Group anticipates an annual flow of 205 tonnes, an increase of 16.5 on 2008. The first ten months of the year, the Russian production of this precious emerged to 171.2 tonnes, against 152.5 tons over the same period of last year, said Friday the Union of Russian industrialists of gold, the local professional association of gold companies. The Organization has made his own prediction of VM Group throughout 2009. Slipped to fifth place of the producing countries, after the United States (215 tonnes expected in 2009), the South Africa degradation could continue in 2010.

His current rank is indeed threatened by the Peru, whose yellow metal flow should be 183.5 tonnes this year. It would be sufficient for this that the Peru increase its production of a modest 2 between 2008 and 2009, and that the South Africa debit 10 less than or, like 2009 versus 2008.