Canadian gold production jumped 22 percent in the third quarter, the World Gold Council said, as recently commissioned mines added volumes that offset declines in Australia and the United States. Equinox Gold’s Valentine mine in Newfoundland and Labrador, which entered commercial production in November last year, and B2Gold’s Goose mine in Nunavut drove the increase alongside stronger output from existing operations. Valentine alone is expected to produce 140,000 to 150,000 ounces this year.
Worldwide mine production rose 3 percent to a third quarter record of 1,071 tonnes, and output over the first nine months was 2 percent higher, putting the industry on course for a full year record. Indonesia rose 21 percent on higher grades at Batu Hijau, the start of Pani Gold and recovering output at Grasberg, and Chile rose 19 percent on Salares Norte and the newly commissioned Fenix operation. Australia fell 12 percent and the United States fell 7 percent, with lower grades and mine sequencing weighing on Cadia, Nevada Gold Mines and Round Mountain.
Total supply still fell. Recycled supply dropped 8 percent to about 314 tonnes, its lowest level since late 2023, and producers cut their outstanding hedge book by an estimated 17 tonnes for an eleventh consecutive quarter. The recycling decline outweighed the increase in mined gold, leaving total supply 1 percent lower at 1,369 tonnes. In India, owners preferred to pledge gold as collateral or exchange old jewellery rather than sell, and Chinese recycling fell 20 percent from a year earlier.
The new ounces cost more to produce. Average industry all-in sustaining costs reached a record $1,930 an ounce in the second quarter, up 22 percent from a year earlier and the fastest annual increase since early 2013, on higher energy and consumable prices and increased sustaining capital. BMO Capital Markets estimates point the same way, with sustaining costs for covered producers forecast to average $1,795 an ounce this year, 16 percent above 2025, easing to $1,764 next year. Bullion averaged $4,262 an ounce in the third quarter, so margins remain wide, but the cost line is now rising almost as fast as the price line at mature mines.