Gold: According to a recent report from the World Gold Council (WGC), it’s in the world’s best interest to have a strong and robust gold mining industry.
The report, released with international economic consulting firm Maxwell Stamp Plc, said the gold mining industry was directly responsible for contributing $83.1 billion to the global economy in 2013. When expanding its indirect contribution, that figure swelled to $171.6 billion.
Metrics and figures for the report stem from an analysis of 47 gold producing countries, which account for more than 90% of the world’s gold production.
From an employment standpoint, the report noted that over 1 million people were directly employed by gold mining companies and a further 3 million were employed from the industry’s supplier and support services.
“This report shows that the total economic impact of gold mining is significant and substantial – at $171.6 billion, it is greater than the GDP of over 150 different countries and considerably larger than the total value of global overseas aid in recent years,” said John Mulligan, head of member and investor relations at the WGC. “Our findings highlight that commercial gold mining is a major source of income and driver of economic growth, playing an important role in supporting the sustainable socio-economic development of host nations and communities.”
The report also highlighted the benefits that the gold mining industry provides countries considered low or lower-middle income countries.
In the report, over 60% of the countries covered were low or lower-middle income countries and that gold mining companies operating in these areas have shown to participate in improvements regarding the income status of the host nations.
Also highlighted was 70% of the value that is distributed into a host nation’s economy from gold miners goes to suppliers and employees. Governments tend to make their money from revenues related to gold mining are mostly linked to corporate and income tax, rather than permits or royalties.
Andrew Britton, managing consultant at Maxwell Stamp and author of the report, said that it has been difficult to measure the economic impacts of the gold mining industry as whole, with it usually being limited to single countries.
“The lack of information has held back constructive debate on how to make the most of the shared value that a responsible gold mining industry can create for host nations and communities,” he said. “By building on previous research and identifying industry-wide thematic trends, this work has made substantial progress in bridging the information gap.”
A final highlight from the report showed that gold mining’s direct global economic contribution between 2000 and 2013 outpaced the rise in gold’s value during over that time sevenfold. |
