NEWS ANALYSIS: Homebound gold miners are risking future growth
TORONTO-DENVER — The world’s biggest gold miners are taking a cautious approach in their hunt for bullion, spending more money exploring around existing mines than in new territory, in a strategy that may have short-term gains but risks future production growth.Top gold producers are relying more than ever on small companies to do the heavy lifting of searching for new gold deposits and are increasingly taking 10% to 20% equity stakes in the junior miners.Exploring close to home is more cost efficient and improves the odds of discoveries. But the chances of making major new finds are limited, diminishing global gold output, which is expected to decline nearly 9% in the next three years."It only makes sense to be looking in your own backyard first before exploring elsewhere," said Paul Rollinson, CE of Kinross Gold, which spends about 90% of its exploration budget around existing sites."We focus on areas we already know, with existing infrastructure nearby, in jurisdictions we are co...
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