Statistics say that in 2020, the top 20 gold mining companies saw a 5% decrease in output, primarily due to work interruptions associated with the imposed quarantine. Fortunately, production will most likely recover in 2021, and based on mid-term projections, it would reach 6% more than the revised post-quarantine projections for 2020.
This year, the global gold mining industry has faced unprecedented problems caused by production interruptions, which were the main factors behind the notable production drops recorded in several regions. North America, South America and Africa have experienced the greatest impact.
Canada produced 1,160 koz of gold in the second quarter of 2020, which is significantly less (-22%) than the 1,482 koz it mined in the second quarter of 2019. Quebec's production, meanwhile, was down a record 32% in Q2 2020 compared to Q2 2019, while gold production in Ontario fell by 17%.
The main factor behind these sharp drops was both government-sanctioned and voluntary production interruptions.
Initially, the top 20 gold miners were planning to mine about 39,118 koz of gold in 2020, before the emergence of COVID-19.
After the suspensions were lifted, many affected companies revised their production forecasts for 2020, and as a result, the figure dropped to 337,291 koz of gold.
On the bright side, in the third quarter of 2020, many gold miners saw a record growth in output, as they sought to make up for production lost during the suspensions.
Therefore, for 2021, the top 20 gold miners plan to mine 39,381 koz of gold, calculated as the sum of the averages of their respective production forecasts, which is 6% more than the revised post-quarantine forecast for 2020.
