Major commodity-producing countries are set to remain under intense finance strain in 2016, which will increase the risk of social unrest, says Verisk Maplecroft.
Given the rally in the gold price purchasing more than 19 tonnes may have cushioned the record $108 billion fall in China's forex reserves in December.
The miner is one the very few bullion miners to have performed well during one of the most difficult markets conditions affecting gold producers in decades.
Only 0.6% of private capital raised in 2015 for natural resource investment is for mining projects–one wind farm fund attracted more than the entire sector.
After-tax NPV 5% of c$455 million and IRR of 37 %; average life of mine annual gold production of 184,000 ounces and all-in sustaining costs of us$550/oz au.
Low copper prices have forced the Vancouver-based firm to lay-off more than one-third of the workforce at its Huckleberry mine in northwestern British Columbia.
The precious metal is building on gains from earlier in the week, triggered mainly by escalating geo-political tensions in the Middle East and North Korea’s nuclear test.