…as price soars to all time high since 1968
DECLARED production of gold in the first quarter of 2011 amounted to 74, 652 ounces, 4,848 less than projected.
Figures released by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold Board disclosed that production in January amounted to 14,392 ounces, 12,108 ounces less than targeted.
But production picked up in February with 26,846 ounces declared, 346 ounces above targeted 26,500 ounces, and gained momentum in March, with 33,414 ounces declared or 26% over the projected target.
The figures were released yesterday even as gold prices hit an all time high of US$1459.50 per ounce on the London Gold Market yesterday afternoon – the highest since 1968 and the highest since prices started climbing from US$513 an ounce in 2005.
Fixed prices by the London Bullion Market Association were US$1456.50 per ounce yesterday morning and US$1459.50 yesterday afternoon.
Local sources say that the all time high in prices could be due to the fact that several gold mines in the Western African state of Ivory Coast had recently ceased operations as a result of civil unrest there.
Total reported production of gold in Ivory Coast in 2009 amounted to almost 7 tons, a 142 percent increase from 2.87 tons in 2008.
Home to several gold mines, Ivory Coast has been in turmoil since President Laurent Gbagbo defied calls to give up the Presidency after election results in November showed that his rival Alessane Quattara had won.
British miner Cluff Gold Plc late March suspended operations at its Angovia mine in Ivory Coast due to shortages of fuel, explosives, cement and cyanide, and will not re-open until political stability returns.
Australia’s Newcrest Mining recently halted its operations in south-central Ivory Coast.
Large scale Perseus Mining (PRU) operations have also been adversely affected, the official source said.
The source urged local miners to double up their production and benefit from the financial windfall of the current all time high in prices, apparently caused by a drop in supply on the world market.