As global economic uncertainty continues to rise, the demand for gold as a safe haven investment and commodity has also increased, driving up its value and demand. As a result, leading gold production companies are looking to fulfill the demand by recording significant production of the precious metal.
In this line, data acquired by Finbold indicates that the world’s leading 10 gold mining companies cumulatively produced 902.66 tons of the precious metal in 2022. Newmont NYSE:NEM led the way, which produced 186.13 tons, accounting for approximately 20% of the total gold produced by the 10 firms.
Barrick Gold TSX:ABX ranked second, producing 129.41 tons, followed by Agnico Eagle [TSX:AEM] at 97.97 tons. AngloGold Ashanti claimed the fourth spot with 85.69 tons, while Polyus accounted for the fifth-highest production at 79.41 tons.
Other companies leading in gold production include Gold Fields (74.9 tons), Kinross Gold TSX:K (68.75 tons), Newcrest Mining (67.59 tons), Freeport-McMoran NYSE:FCX (56.59 tons) and Zijin Mining (56.16 tons).
Elsewhere, prices of the precious metal have recorded steady growth in recent months, with gold value as of May 11, 2023, standing at $2,021 per ounce. The value represents a 6.55% increase from January’s $1,897.
Gold production shows resilience
The research from Finbold points to robustness within the gold mining sectors among the top producers, as demand for gold from large buyers like central banks continues to pick up.
The cumulative production by the highlighted companies shows the resilience of the gold mining sector, which is still attempting to recover from the effects of the pandemic. At the same time, despite significant gold production by the major companies, the industry experienced rising costs in 2022 due to the extended effects of the pandemic and geopolitical events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The world’s leading gold mining companies are seeing their produced gold hit a market that is currently experiencing a return to demand, driven by various factors. In addition, the consumption of gold in the form of products such as jewellery is also on the rise, further driving demand for the commodity.
Indeed, the ability of gold miners to sustain production will be determined by factors such as the economic outlook and overall market demand.
