By Frik Els
MINING.com
The CEO of the world’s most valuable gold miner Goldcorp (TSE:G) says “peak gold” will be reached this year or in 2015.
Chuck Jeannes told the Wall Street Journal global gold production will start to decline “as easy-to-mine gold deposits become harder to find” and in the absence of any major technological breakthrough:
“Whether it is this year or next year, I don’t think we will ever see the gold production reach these levels again,” he said. “There are just not that many new mines being found and developed.”
Jeannes says a drop in mine supply from a high of 2,270 tonnes in 2013 will support the gold price and lead to further consolidation in the industry as gold majors opt to buy ounces.
Last year Goldcorp, worth $22.3 billion on the Toronto Stock Exchange, made an unsuccessful bid for fellow Canadian miner Osisko, but Jeannes could not be drawn on whether the Vancouver-based company plans to launch any other bids in the short term.