TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Imports of gold ore and concentrates in the US rose by 28% in the first half of this year, while doré and precipitates imports fell by 4% and refined bullion imports by 17%.

The US Geological Survey's (USGS's) latest mineral industry survey for June found that overall imports for gold consumption, at 134 000 kg, for the six months under review were 8% lower than those of the same period in 2014.

Canada and Mexico each supplied 25% of total US gold imports, followed by Colombia, at 10%. Canada contributed 74% of US imports of refined bullion and 93% of ores and concentrates.

Doré and precipitates were mainly imported from Mexico, at 30%, Colombia, at 15%, and Ecuador and Peru, at 11% each.

Waste and scrap imports for the first half of the year were 34% higher than in the same period in 2014, with Costa Rica and Mexico the top shippers of waste and scrap gold to the US, contributing 61% and 15%, respectively.

US gold exports for the six months under review increased by 3% year-on-year.

Ores and concentrates exports increased by 46%, while doré and precipitates exports declined by 7% and refined bullion exports increased by 6%.

Switzerland, the UK and Hong Kong and were the chief destinations for gold materials from the US, accounting for 37%, 23% and 17% respectively. These countries also accounted for 32%, 32% and 23%, respectively, of US bullion exports during the six-month period.

The top recipients of US exports of gold doré and precipitates were Switzerland (52%), India (32%) and the United Arab Emirates (16%).

Waste and scrap exports jumped 157% year-on-year, with the UK and Belgium receiving the bulk of the products.

OUTPUT
The USGS also reported that US gold output rose 10% month-on-month to 17 000 kg in June. Output for the month was, however, 4% lower than that produced in June 2014.

Based on unrounded data, the average daily gold output for US mines was 566 kg in June and 497 kg in May. This was compared with average daily output of 576 kg in the 2014 full-year.

Domestic gold output in the first half of 2015, at 95 000 kg, was 8% lower year-on-year, owing to lower production from Barrick Gold’s Cortez operations, in Nevada, and Rio Tinto’s Bingham Canyon mine, in Utah. Cortez produced 10 100 kg in the six months under review, 27% less than in the first half of 2014, mainly owing to processing lower-grade ore from the Pipeline openpit.

The Bingham Canyon mine produced 2 310 kg of gold in the first half of this year, 46% less than that of the same period in 2014, owing to development and dewatering of the east wall. Work on the east wall was expected to continue into the second half of this year.

Newmont Mining’s Twin Creeks mine, also in Nevada, produced 7 650 kg of gold in the six months under review, 29% more than that of the same period of 2014, owing to higher throughput at its mill and a higher ore grade.