2013 Gold Top 10, The Producers

While year after year the list of top gold producers doesn’t change too much, it is always worth knowing which companies are at the top of the gold producer pyramid. So while it is no surprise that the likes of Barrick Gold, Newmont and Anglogold Ashanti top the 2013 gold producer list, it might be interesting to note that last year, newcomer Sibanye Gold slipped into ninth spot… in its first year of production.

The 2013 Gold and Silver Mining Focus report by Metals Focus has been released. Here is the list of 2013 top gold producers.

Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX, NYSE:ABX)

Barrick Gold produced 7.17 million ounces of gold in 2013, down 3 percent from 2012′s level of 7.42 million ounces. The company expects to produce between 6 million and 6.5 million ounces of gold in 2014, according to its 2013 annual report. Barrick had two top-producing mines in 2013: the Cortez and the Goldstrike mines tied with 0.24 million ounces of production each. The company forecasts lower production in 2014 for the Cortez mine and higher production for the Goldstrike mine.

Newmont (TSX:NMC, NYSE:NEM)

Newmont produced 5.07 million ounces of gold in 2013, an increase of 2 percent over last year’s 4.98 million ounces. The bulk of the company’s gold production in 2013 was from Nevada, where Newmont’s Juniper mill is located, as well as its Phoenix, Carlin North Area and Emigrant production sites. The mills had higher tonnage and grades in 2013, and higher leach production also contributed to the production in Nevada, according to the report. Newmont also has projects on other continents, according to its 2013 annual report.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU)

AngloGold Ashanti produced 4.11 million ounces of gold in 2013, up 4 percent from its 2012 output of 3.94 million ounces. The company’s largest production comes from continental Africa, specifically from its Geita mine in Tanzania, where 459,000 ounces were produced in 2013. South Africa was the second most productive area for AngloGold Ashanti in 2013, with the Mponeng mine in West Wits the standout production site with 354,000 million ounces of gold. In its 2013 annual report, AngloGold Ashanti estimates it will produce between 4.2 million and 4.5 million ounces of gold in 2014.

Goldcorp (TSX:G, NYSE:GG)

Goldcorp produced 2.67 million ounces of gold in 2013, up 11 percent from 2.4 million ounces last year. The company expects to produce between 3 million and 3.15 million ounces of gold in 2014. Its top-producing mine for 2013 was the Red Lake mine, which produced 493,000 ounces of gold. Red Lake is located in Ontario, and is one of the world’s most productive gold mines, according to the company’s website.

Kinross (TSX:K,NYSE:KGC)

Kinross produced 2.55 million ounces of gold in 2013, up 5 percent from its 2012 level of 2.42 million ounces. The company expects to produce between 2.5 million and 2.7 million ounces of gold in 2014. Its most productive mine was the Kupol mine in Russia, having produced 550,188 ounces of gold in 2013. The Kupol project is in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Far East Region of the Russian federation.

Newcrest (TSX:NM, ASX:NCM)

Newcrest produced 2.36 million ounces of gold in 2013, up 14 percent from 2.07 million ounces in 2012. For the 2014 financial year, Newcrest expects to produce between 2 and 2.3 million ounces of gold, according to its 2013 annual report. Its most productive mine in 2013 was the Lihir project in Papua New Guinea, which produced 649,340 ounces of gold. According to the company’s annual report, Lihir is one of the largest gold deposits in the world.

Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI)

Gold Fields produced 1.84 million ounces of gold in 2013, a drop of 40 percent from its 3.08 million ounces of production in 2012. Gold Fields’s top producing mine in 2013 was the Cerro Corona mine in Peru, with 314,000 ounces of gold, according to its 2013 annual report. The company also operates in Australasia, South Africa and West Africa. Gold Fields forecasts production in 2014 of around 2.2 million ounces of gold, according to its annual report.

Polyus (LSE:POLG)

Russia-based gold company Polyus produced 1.65 million ounces of gold in 2013, up 5 percent from its 1.57 million ounces of the metal in 2012. Its top producing mine was Olimpiada, with 691,000 ounces of gold produced there in 2013. Olimpiada is in Eastern Siberia, Russia, and is the company’s largest single operation, according to its website.

Sibanye (NYSE:SBGL)

Sibanye produced 1.43 million ounces of gold in 2013, its first year of production. Sibanye was part of Gold Fields until 2013, and if the two companies are combined, their output increased 6 percent year-over-year, according to Moneyweb. Sibanye’s most productive project was the Driefontein operation, southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. The mine produced a total of 6 million ounces in 2013.

Harmony Gold (NYSE:HMY)

Harmony produced 1.14 million ounces of gold in 2013, down 10 percent from 1.26 million ounces in 2012. The company expects its production will increase to between 1.3 million and 1.4 million ounces of gold in 2014. Its Target 1 mine – located, like all its projects, in South Africa - was most profitable. Mining strikes in South Africa disrupted the company’s profits and production in 2013, but this situation isn’t expected to recur in the year to come.

'Iron lady' will define future of world’s top copper producer

The future of Chile’s owned Codelco, the world’s No.1 copper producer, is said to be now in the hands of Laura Albornoz, the first woman appointed director, who played an important role in last week dismissal of CEO Thomas Keller.

“Codelco has had management issues that isn’t just down to the international price of copper,” Albornoz was quoted as saying by Bloomberg Monday. “We can take the company a lot further than where we have got it to now.”

The executive, a lawyer and former minister of the National Service for Women (Sernam), voiced her concerns on the management style at Codelco as soon as she was appointed in May.

The executive, a lawyer and former minister of the National Service for Women (Sernam), voiced her concerns on the management style at Codelco as soon as she was appointed in May.

"I have serious reservations regarding the management of Codelco, the entire administration should and will be scrutinized," she said in an interview with El Diario Financiero (in Spanish) last month.

She has said that Codelco can’t be treated like a privately held company because of the role it has in generating wealth in Chile, and how much workers feel part of the company.

“There is a very emotional bond. The perspective of a woman could bring something to the debate,” she said according to Bloomberg.

Budget decisions

As one of the newest members of Codelco’s board, Albornoz is gearing up to vote in the upcoming yearly budget, which is considered by the finance ministry every June. The copper giant invested more than $8 billion since 2012 and is expected to spend $5 billion this year. Without that investment, Keller said in January, output would drop by more than half.

Albornoz is scheduled to visit the old Chuquicamata mine next week, where relations between Keller and the workers have been at their worst.

As a state-owned company, Codelco has often been in a tug-of-war with the government over its investment budget. Of about $100bn in profits that Codelco has transferred to the state since it was nationalized in 1971, only $4bn has been returned back to the miner.

The mining company is undergoing a massive transformation, trying to maintain profits from the world's largest open-pit copper mine, Chuquicamata, by extending operations underground. At the same time, plans call for turning the world's largest underground mine, El Teniente, into an open pit operation.

But Albornoz, who implemented a program to incorporate more women into the copper industry between 2006 and 2009, seems to be more focused on resolving labour issues first.

She is scheduled to visit the old Chuquicamata mine next week, where relations between Keller and the workers have been at their worst.

And while she hasn’t given away any clues regarding who Keller’s successor will be, she told El Diario Financiero (in Spanish) it was only reasonable to think  the head of Codelco will not only have to be someone who does the job best, but also an individual “able to reflect the government program and values.

Russian producer Rusal see more gains for aluminium

Russia's Rusal believes a combination of bullish physical and technical factors that emerged in recent weeks will send the benchmark aluminium price to challenge the April peak of $1,900 a tonne this week and possibly $2,000 in the coming months.

The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange has shed a third since touching a peak of $2,803 a tonne in May 2011, weighed down by overproduction and surpluses.

But it has recovered 14 percent since touching a 4/1-2 year low in February.

United Company Rusal Plc , one of the world's biggest aluminium producers, pointed out in a statement that LME aluminium stocks have dropped to the lowest levels in 13 months.

LME stocks fell another 7,600 tonnes on Monday and have declined 5.5 percent so far this year, but are still at 5.15 million tonnes.

"The stock trends through 2014 clearly support the view that the market is in significant deficit," Rusal said.

Rusal has previously forecast that the market is expected to have a market deficit of about 1.2 million tonnes this year and a further deficit of 985,000 tonnes in 2015 due to strong demand and capacity cutbacks by producers.

Rusal also sees the declining LME cash-three month spread as indicating tighter conditions that are supporting the market. The contango - when nearby prices are weaker than forward ones - has declined to $24 a tonne from $45.50 a month ago.

"The contango represents the carrying cost for long only investors (index funds and macro hedge funds) who may be encouraged to return to the market, as well as a disincentive to market 'short' players," it said.

Copper Drops for Fifth Day Amid Metal-Warehousing Probe

Copper dropped for a fifth day on concern that a probe into inventories at Qingdao Port will reduce demand for the metal as collateral for credit in China, the world’s biggest user of the commodity.

The contract for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange retreated as much as 0.7 percent to $6,642 a metric ton and was at $6,662 at 4:14 p.m. in Tokyo. The metal fell 2.3 percent last week, touching $6,640 on June 6, the lowest intra-day level since May 8.

Qingdao Port is looking at whether there was multiple counting of some batches of copper used as collateral for loans, three people with direct knowledge of the investigation said last week. Chinese traders are selling copper holdings in the physical market amid the probe, and more metal will be released next week, Shanghai-based consultancy SMM Information & Technology Co. said June 6.

“Investors were very nervous to buy copper because of the Qingdao investigation,” said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at Fujitomi Co., a commodities broker in Tokyo. Dwindling stockpiles and indications of improvement in the Chinese and U.S. economies may limit further declines today, he said.

China’s exports rose more-than-estimated 7 percent last month, while imports fell, data showed yesterday. U.S. non-farm payrolls rose by 217,000 in May, exceeding the pre-recession peak.

Copper stockpiles tracked by exchanges in Shanghai, London and New York have dropped 47 percent this year to the lowest level since 2008.

In New York, futures for delivery in July slid 0.6 percent to $3.0315 a pound. The metal for delivery in August fell 1.8 percent to close at 47,370 yuan ($7,594) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

On the LME, nickel and tin also dropped, while aluminum, zinc and lead advanced.

PBOC Hits Panic Button: Strengthens Currency By Most In 20 Months

On the heels of growing contagion concerns regarding shadow banking collateral and the "rehypothecation evaporation" and this weekend's 'odd' Chinese trade data (big drop in imports, no doubt impacted by dramatic commodity invoicing swings), the PBOC has fixed the Chinese currency 0.36% in the last 2 days... the biggest strengthening in the currency since October 2012. It is unclear for now exactly what is going on but we suspect the panic button outflows as banks pull credit and unwind CCFDs are forcing China's hand to offset CNY selling pressure... and of course China does it in grand style. 

China's biggest trade surplus since Jan 09... as imports tumbled 1.6% (against expectations of a 6% rise)

After weeks of weakening and comments on rising volatility and flexibity to tamp down the carry trade fervor, China has gone to the other extreme...

Whether this is to kill off the last of the momentum-chasing muppers now following the CNY weakenin trend is unclear but one thing is certain, the coincidence of such a violent move with the rising credit contagion concerns in the warehouse probes is extremely interesting.

Barclays provides some more color:

Barclays expects depreciating CNY and recent govt probe into commodity financing to continue to discourage commodity imports for arbitrage purposes, according to note yesterday; despite sizable trade surplus and FDI, PBOC’s FX purchase slowed markedly in recent mos., suggesting reduced capital inflows from other channels and signs of capital outflows

First we are told this...

• *CHINA CASH CRUNCH IN JUNE LAST YR UNLIKELY TO REPEAT: LIAN PING
• *CHINA'S OVERSUPPLY OF PROPERTY MAY LAST FOR 1 YEAR: LIAN PING

Which likely means that is exactly what they are worried about... and then Premier Li is starting to worry...

• *PREMIER LI SAYS DOWNWARD ECONOMIC PRESSURE RELATIVELY LARGE
• *LI URGES GOVT TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS OF FINANCING, EXPORTS
• *LI KEQIANG URGES GOVTS TO ENSURE CHINA TO MEET ECONOMIC GOALS
• *LI KEQIANG SAYS HE WORRIES ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES

And then there's this...

• *CHINA MAY LAND SALES FALL 49% TO 62.2M SQUARE METERS: SOUFUN

So - not good then!?

And then copper crashes to Friday's lows...

FMC pressurising MCX on FTIL stake sale

Business at the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) would be "seriously hurt" if no new contracts are launched beyond August, said Ramesh Abhishek, Chairman of the Forward Markets Commission.

Commodity markets regulator FMC today said it has not approved a proposal by MCX to launch new contracts beyond August as part of a strategy to put pressure on the exchange to comply with its order on reduction of the stake held by the former promoter. Business at the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) would be "seriously hurt" if no new contracts are launched beyond August, said Ramesh Abhishek, Chairman of the Forward Markets Commission. 

Also Read: Finmin issues show-cause notice to NSEL on exemptions In December, the FMC had declared MCX's erstwhile promoter Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) as unfit to run any exchange after a Rs 5,600 crore payment crisis at group company National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). The regulator asked FTIL to reduce its stake in MCX to 2 percent from 26 percent. The FMC had directed MCX to take concrete steps to comply with this order.

"We have not given any deadline but we are putting all kind of pressure on MCX to comply with the order. We have not approved new contracts beyond August and not approved new contracts to be launched in the 2015 calendar year as well," Abhishek told PTI. "MCX has to comply with the order by August. Otherwise, no new contracts will be approved. This will seriously hurt MCX's business," he said. FTIL is in the process of selling a 24 per cent stake in including  Reliance Capital  and Kotak Group. Bidders have sought more time to submit final bids in view of "adverse findings" in a special audit report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers on corporate governance issues at MCX. MCX is the country's leading commodity exchange. Its trading volumes have fallen significantly since the NSEL payment crisis came to the fore in July. Turnover on MCX declined 72 per cent to Rs 3,77,324 crore in April from Rs 13,26,155 crore a year earlier, according to FMC data.

Weekly Economic Data for the week 07-Jun-14 to 13-Jun-14

Avg. change of last 1 year:	Average Change in Actual data calculated for last 1 year.
Expected impact on price:	This indicator shows the effect of the anticipation of data on the prices of related country’s major indices. We have categorized it as below: Very Good Good Neutral Bad Very Bad
Actual:	Refers to the actual/latest figures after its release.

Data for the week 07-Jun-14 to 13-Jun-14

Date	Time (IST)	Country	Data	Exp.	Prior	Exp. chg today	Avg. chg of last 1 year	Exp. Impact on Price
08-Jun-2014	--	China	Imports (YoY)	6%	0.8%	5.20%	6.92	Neutral
08-Jun-2014	--	China	Exports (YoY)	6.7%	0.9%	5.80%	5.65	Neutral
08-Jun-2014	--	China	Trade Balance	22.6B	18.46B	4.14	13.34	Neutral
9-10 Jun-2014	--	Germany	Merkel, Cameron, Rutte, Reinfeldt Meet at Swedish Summit					Neutral
10-15 Jun-2014	--	China	Money Supply M2 YoY	13.1%	13.2%	-0.10	0.71	Neutral
10-16 Jun-2014	--	India	Exports YoY		-5.3%		4.06	Neutral
10-Jun-2014	07-00 AM	China	Consumer Price Index (YoY)	2.4%	1.8%	0.60%	0.43	Neutral
10-Jun-2014	07-00 AM	China	Producer Price Index (YoY)	-1.5%	-2.0%	0.50%	0.61	Neutral
10-Jun-2014	02-00 PM	United Kingdom	Industrial Production (MoM)	0.4%	-0.1%	0.50%	1.75	Neutral
11-Jun-2014	04-30 AM	United States	World Bank Releases New Global Growth Forecasts					Neutral
11-Jun-2014	02-00 PM	United Kingdom	ILO Unemployment Rate (3M)	6.7%	6.8%	-0.10%	0.07	Neutral
11-Jun-2014	02-30 PM	Germany	Merkel, Draghi Meet for Talks at Chancellery in Berlin					Neutral
11-Jun-2014	08-00 PM	United States	EIA Crude Oil Stocks change	--	-3.4		3.45	Neutral
12-Jun-2014	02-30 PM	European Monetary Union	Industrial Production w.d.a. (YoY)	0.9%	-0.1%	1.00%	0.59	Neutral
12-Jun-2014	05-30 PM	India	Industrial Production YoY	--	-0.5%		2.08	Neutral
12-Jun-2014	06-00 PM	United States	Retail Sales (MoM)	0.6%	0.1%	0.50%	0.63	Neutral
12-Jun-2014	08-00 PM	European Monetary Union	Merkel Briefs Reporters After Meeting German State Premiers					Neutral
12-Jun-2014	08-00 PM	United States	EIA Natural Gas Storage change	--	119	-119.00	33.60	Neutral
13-Jun-2014	--	Japan	BOJ 2014 Monetary Base Target		¥270T		0.00	Neutral
13-Jun-2014	--	Japan	Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Statement					Neutral
13-Jun-2014	11-00 AM	China	Industrial Production (YoY)	8.8%	8.7%	0.10%	0.67	Neutral
13-Jun-2014	11-00 AM	China	Retail Sales (YoY)	12.2%	11.9%	0.30%	0.78	Neutral
13-Jun-2014	11-30 PM	Japan	BOJ Governor Kuroda Press Conference After Rate Decision					Neutral
13-Jun-2014	02-30 PM	European Monetary Union	Trade Balance s.a.	--	€15.2B	-15.20€	2.05	Neutral
13-Jun-2014	07-25 PM	United States	Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index	83	81.9	1.10	2.48	Neutral