Column: Demand weakness helps cushion tin from supply problems
Tin demand last year was weaker than expected and is on course for only a modest recovery in 2024, according to the International Tin Association.
Vancouver-based Eldorado Gold Corp (TSX:ELD)(NYSE:EGO) announced Wednesday it would spend $98.5 million on exploration in 2013, and posted 2012 production results that came in just shy of its mid-year guidance.
The gold miner, with operations in Turkey, China, Greece, Brazil and Romania, said its 2012 production reached 659,369 ounces of gold at a cash cost of $489. Its mid-year guidance was for 660,000 ounces at a lower cost of $465 per ounce.
The bullion producer also said the overage in cash costs was due to the higher production costs at its Efemcukuru property in Turkey, which was negatively affected by one time start up issues as it began commercial production.
Eldorado said that Efemcukuru’s unit costs in 2013 are projected to decline to roughly $480 per ounce.
For 2012, the miner posted a realized gold price of $1,676 per ounce, and said it sold 625,396 ounces of gold. Eldorado ended the year with about $810 million in cash and equivalents, including cash raised through the successful issuance of $600 million in notes, completed in December 2012.
In 2013, the company expects to produce in the range of 705,000 to 760,000 ounces of gold, with cash costs of around $515 to $530 an ounce.
