14 September
Major gold mining companies across the globe are reducing costs following shutdowns related to the Covid-19 pandemic, despite high prices for the precious metal. Cost-conscious executives are prioritising investor returns over production growth, Reuters reported. This year, prices of gold increased 30% to roughly $2,000 an ounce after central banks dialled up stimulus measures in response to the pandemic. According to regulatory filings, gold miners worldwide, including Newmont, Barrick and Gold Fields have cut planned output for the year by 7% amid Covid-19 shutdowns.
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The Colombian government has reported that the country’s coal production has declined by 48.8% during the second quarter because of quarantine measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic and low international prices. Reuters quoted the mines and energy ministry and national mining agency as saying in a joint statement that between April and June this year, the country produced 9.7 million tonnes of the fuel, which is down from 18.8 million tonnes last year. For more than five months from March to August, the country was under quarantine measures.
Copper Mines of Tasmania’s (CMT) Indian parent company Vedanta Resources is reportedly planning to sell the mothballed Mt Lyell operation at Queenstown in Australia after the Covid-19 pandemic stalled the mine’s restart plan in February. Vedanta has appointed global investment bank Macquarie Capital for managing the sale process, and also to secure a new owner to take forward the Mt Lyell operation. The mine has been put on care and maintenance since 2014 after three miners died in two separate incidents.
