Thirteen new gold mines that are expected to start up this year in the United States will add more than a half-million ounces of production capacity to that country’s annual gold production, the Metals Economics Group of Colorado reports.
An additional eight projects, for which 1988 start-ups have been announced, are scheduled to increase U.S. mine production by another half-million ounces in 1988. (Start-up problems or delays because of economic factors or technical troubles may reduce these projected increases.)
With 30 projects currently undergoing feasibility studies and another 62 projects receiving reserves development work in preparation for the feasibility stage, the nation’s gold mine capacity should increase by about 40% by the end of 1988, if gold prices remain above $400(US) per oz.
In all, there are 121 active gold development projects in the U.S. with a combined mineral inventory of more than 618 million tons with an average grade of 0.06 oz gold per ton, or approximately 35 million ounces currently under development. Meanwhile, silver has reached a five-year low in terms of the number of development projects, with only 11 primary silver projects currently reporting active work programs in the U.S. Should the price of silver stabilize in the high $7 per oz range, however, a number of U.S. projects may get a fresh look.
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