Regarding costs going up I was intrigued by the following (image below) in an article on why gold is a compelling investment, published in Feb 2024 by Sprott where they quoted BMO research projected ASIC for the gold sector to fall over the next 3 years by 25% for large producers, 37% for medium sized producers, 39% for small producers and even more for developers.
https://sprott.com/insights/sprott-gold-report-gold-mining-stocks-a-clear-and-compelling-investment-case/I was extremely sceptical of this research, I even thought what a ridiculous finding given recent upwards trend in ASIC, but then I saw the second image from Metal Focus (from an article they published in the last month) where the ASIC for the industry fell from circa $US1,150 in about 2013 to circa $US850 by 2016 or by circa 25%. While I am still sceptical that ASIC will drop so much in the next 3 years, I guess the second image suggests it is possible hold miners ASIC may fall in the future. I also have seen a similar chart from the World Gold Council which if my memory is correct goes back to early 2000’s.
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