(Kitco News) – Despite analyst speculation implying that the gold mining sector has reached peak production, one expert said that isn’t the case at all.
Karr McCurdy, partner at Rock Elm Capital, said there’s still a large amount of the metal out there to be mined, but the issue is a lack of resources.
“There is a lot of room for greenfield discovery, it perhaps takes a little more commitment and capital, but I believe there’s no real shortage of minerals,” McCurdy told Kitco News on the sidelines of the 121 Mining Investment Conference in New York.
McCurdy noted that he sees more interest in exploration coming in the near future.
“Demand continues to grow with the growing populations of India and China… [As they] obtain more discretionary income, they will buy gold, that will impact the price of gold, and that will bring people back to exploration,” he said.
McCurdy said his experience in the geological field leads him to believe a change of attitudes towards exploration could reshape the industry.
“It’s all about perception,” McCurdy said. “Early in my career, most gold mining focused on very select high-grade targets with visible gold, and the concept of microscopic gold was just being discovered.” When that happened, he said, public outlook shifted significantly and new technology was developed, revealing substantial gains.