Gold miners set to loosen death grip on spending as caution eases

With gold prices posting the best first half in almost four decades, the coming round of earnings reports may provide signs miners are preparing to ease their collective death grip on spending.

Big producers had focused on deferring projects, curtailing operations and otherwise slashing costs and debt as prices declined for three years in a row. That has raised concern companies won’t be able to maintain current output levels as mines get older and the smaller explorers and developers get squeezed.