NEW YORK: The US Geological Survey has reported that during the first half of the year, gold ore and concentrates imports rose by 28%, while imports of doré and precipitates fell by 4% and imports of refined bullion decreased by 17%. Without specifying volumes, the USGS’s latest mineral industry survey for June found that the total imports for gold consumption for the first six months were 8% less than those of the same period in 2014. Canada and Mexico were the leading shippers of gold to the US, each supplying 25% of total US imports, followed by Colombia, which supplied 10%. Canada accounted for 74% of imports of refined bullion and 93% of ores and concentrates. The leading sources for imports of doré and precipitates for the period were Mexico (30%), Colombia (15%), Ecuador and Peru (11% each). Waste and scrap imports for the first half of the year were 34% more than in the same period in 2014. The USGS said that Costa Rica and Mexico were the top shippers of waste and scrap gold to the US, accounting for 61% and 15%, respectively, of these imports. Total gold exports for the first half increased by 3% year-over-year. Meanwhile, ores and concentrates exports increased by 46%, and that of doré and precipitates declined by 7%, while exports of refined bullion increased by 6%. Switzerland, the UK, and Hong Kong and were the chief destinations for gold materials from the US, accounting for 37%, 23%, and 17%, respectively, and 32%, 32%, and 23%, respectively, of US bullion exports during the six-month period. The top recipients of US exports of gold doré and precipitates were Switzerland (52%), India (32%), and the United Arab Emirates (16%). Coeur Mining’s Kensington mine, in Alaska, exported about 1 980 kg of gold ore and concentrates to China and Japan for further processing. Waste and scrap exports in the interim period jumped 157% year-over-year, with the UK and Belgium receiving the bulk of the products. OUTPUT The USGS also found that US gold output in June rose 10% over May to 17 000 kg, but fell 4% short of June 2014 output. Based on unrounded data, the average daily gold output for US mines was 566 kg in June, 497 kg in May, and 576 kg for full-year 2014. Domestic gold output in the first half of 2015 was 8% less than that of the same period in 2014, owing to lower production from Barrick Gold’s Cortez operations, in Nevada, and Rio Tinto’s Bingham Canyon mine, in Utah. Cortez operations produced 10 100 kg during the period, 27% less than the first half of 2014, mainly owing to processing lower-grade ore from the Pipeline openpit. The Bingham Canyon mine produced 2 310 kg of gold during the first half of the year, 46% less than that of the same period in 2014, owing to development and dewatering of the east wall. Work on the east wall was expected to continue into the second half of 2015. Newmont Mining’s Twin Creeks mine, also located in Nevada, produced 7 650 kg of gold, 29% more than that of the same period of 2014, owing to the higher throughput at the mill and higher ore grade.
President Zardari rejects FBR demand for surety bonds before tax refunds
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has dismissed a representation filed by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against the Federal...
