Date of Award

Spring 5-4-2024

Degree Type

Publishable Paper

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mining Engineering

Department

Mining Engineering

Committee Chair

Thomas Camm

First Advisor

Abhishek Choudhury

Second Advisor

David P. Gilkey

Third Advisor

Chris Roos

Abstract

Mining has evolved into an equilibrium of ore deposit management, environmental stewardship, and economic profitability that necessitates a proper understanding of economics and production efficiency. The All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) was introduced in 2013 to better capture the cost of producing one ounce of gold and, when compared with the gold price and grade, could describe a company’s gold production efficiency. In this paper, this novel analysis focuses on US and Canadian operations under Barrick and Newmont, the two largest gold mining companies in North America, from 2019-2022. Published data for Coeur and Kinross were also secondarily analyzed. Under Newmont Corporation, Cripple Creek & Victor (CC&V) consistently demonstrated higher AISC than Éléonore (except in 2020), hinting at potential challenges in profitability for CC&V. Overall, Éléonore boasted a higher gold grade, potentially mitigating certain production costs and bolstering profitability relative to CC&V. Under Barrick Corporation, Hemlo consistently demonstrated higher AISC compared to Nevada Gold Mines, suggesting potential profitability challenges. Despite boasting a higher gold grade overall, Hemlo encountered reduced cost efficiency due to its higher production costs relative to the prevailing gold price. In terms of sustainability, all operations must continue to address efficient resource management, adherence to regulatory standards, and community engagement efforts. Areas for future research include comparisons of AISC, gold cost, and gold grade between surface and underground mine operations, as well as intercontinental comparisons among settings with varying labor costs and degrees of sustainability efforts.

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