FX.co ★ Russia boosts gold output despite record low prices

Russia boosted gold output by 17.6% annually to 247,983 tons from January to October 2014.The Kremlin is still ready to buy the precious metal from gold producers aiming to sustain gold-mining industry against the background of low prices. Meanwhile, gold prices sank to the level of 2010. So, primary gold extraction expanded 11.2% to 199,865 tons. Besides, the production by means of recycling scrap gold surged more than two-fold to 31,715 tons. In addition, the secondary gold production as part of smelting non-ferrous metals grew 5.4% to 14,021 tons. These figures are provided by the Russian Union of gold miners. “A slump in gold prices below $1,200 per troy ounce forced some Russian companies to give up developing projects still at an early stage of the geological survey for gold. Hence, they had to freeze start-up of new gold mining facilities,” an official of the Russian Union of gold miners made his comments.