Australia's Yearly Gold Output Recorded Notable Dip in 2021

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): According to Melbourne-based gold mining consultancy firm Surbiton Associates, gold production in Australia totalled 315 tonnes during the previous year. The yearly gold production stood much lower than the peak production recorded during the prior two years. Year-on-year, gold production recorded a decline by 12 tonnes or 4% in 2021.

The country’s gold output had surpassed that of China in the first half of the previous year. However, Australia could not sustain this momentum during the second half of 2021, thus ending up as the world’s second largest gold producing country after China.

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The fall in production was mainly due to factors related to Covid-19 pandemic. The closure of borders by Western Australia in order to restrict the spread of Covid-19 has impacted production from the region, which produces around three quarters of the total gold produced in the country.

The limited availability of fly-in, fly-out workers from other states and shortage of haul truck drivers too affected the production in 2021. In addition, the restricted supply of higher-grade ore forced many processing plants to rely on lower grade stockpiled material, which too has contributed to the lower overall gold production by the country in 2021.