Australia Gold Market

1f42 US ousts Australia as second-biggest gold producerMarch 13, 2007--->March 12, 2007 Following up on South Africa's official release of 2006 mineral production information was news out of Australia this weekend that production in that country has slumped 5% in the past year, falling to levels not seen in nearly a decade and a half. Eventually, the supply side will garner the focus of the investment community it deserves. Also this morning there is news out of China that additional steps are being taken to liberalize various markets in that country and the gold market was highlighted as one market that would be opened further. For a bit of history, the Chinese government legalized gold ownership by private citizens in 2004. While ownership was legalized, a system has been slow in getting up and going in the country. As more layers are peeled back off of the gold consumer in China, higher and higher levels of jewelry or investment consumption of the yellow metal will take place. In the last three years, import tariffs have been reduced, taxes on gold sales have been halved, and transactional levels have been greatly reduced, allowing for even the smallest individual investor to begin to get involved in the marketplace. While there were no specifics on how the gold market would continue to get an assist from the Central bank of China, bank governors have highlighted the gold market as an additional area for rule liberalization and market growth.********US ousts Australia as second-biggest gold producer March 12, 2007 Creamer Media's Mining Weekly The US has climbed to claim the title as the worlds second-biggest gold producer, with South Africa being the biggest, Australian mining consultants Surbiton Associates reported on Sunday.This was after a decline in Australia’s production of the yellow metal, which saw the country slip to third in the rankings.Australian gold mines produced 249 t of gold in 2006, the lowest yearly total since 1993. Production plunged by some 5%, compared with the 2005 total of 263 t, the Australian Gold Review revealed.South Africa maintained its top spot despite its gold output dropping by 100 t over the last three years. 2006 production was 275 t, compared with the previous year’s figure of 297 t. This was the lowest production in over eight decades.Meanwhile, Surbiton reported in the emailed statement that Australia overtook the US as the world’s second largest producer in 2004, but had slipped back, based on preliminary US figures.US production in 2006 was 252 t, just 1% lower than 2005, with a boost late in the year from Newmont’s new Phoenix and Leeville operations in Nevada.Surbiton went on to highlight that, while Peru and Russia were also substantial producers, the emerging force in gold production was China, and the next few years “may well see quite a shake up in the rankings”.