Global gold mine production will grow at the fastest rate in three years this year owing to reduced disruption from Covid-19, Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research says.

The company’s ‘Outlook for Global Gold Mining’ report states that, over the medium term, global mine production growth will remain strong, as high prices by historical standards encourage investment and output growth.

Fitch Solutions forecasts global gold production will increase from 109.4-million ounces this year to 141.7-million ounces by 2030, averaging 3.2% a year growth.

This will be an acceleration from the average growth of just 0.8% over the period from 2016 to 2020.

After having surged during the previous ten years, China’s gold production will stagnate over the coming decade, says Fitch Solutions, noting that declining ore grades will limit domestic investment and encourage Chinese firms to increasingly develop overseas projects.

It forecasts that gold production in China will grow by 0.2% this year, and then remain roughly stagnant over the remainder of the decade.

In Australia, Fitch Solutions says, the gold sector will see modest production growth over the coming years, supported by a strong project pipeline, rising gold prices and competitive operating costs.

It expects the country’s production to increase from 10.8-million ounces this year to 13.1-million ounces in 2030, averaging 2.2% yearly growth.

Fitch Solutions expects Russia’s gold production growth to have accelerated in 2020 and that that will continue into this year, as domestic demand for the precious metal is buoyed by the possibility of further Western sanctions on State banks, which are likely to respond by increasing their reserves of gold.

In the longer term, it expects gold production to be supported by a healthy project pipeline.

Fitch Solutions forecasts the country’s gold output to grow from 9.9-million ounces this year to 14-million ounces in 2030, representing an average yearly growth of 3.8% during this decade.

In the US, Fitch Solutions forecasts gold production to grow by 1.5% this year.