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bank added some 200 mt to its reserves during the year, while it became known that China's central bank has accumulated over 600 mt of gold since 2009. The period between 1995 and 2009 was marked by net central bank sales of gold holdings each year, reaching over 600 mt in both 2003 and 2005. Since 2010, howev- er, the opposite trend has dominated, with net central bank buying reaching a peak of 625 mt in 2013. In terms of total central bank holdings, the USA tops the list with 8,133 mt, with other large-scale holders including Germany, Italy, France, China, Russia and Switzerland—together with the International Monetary Fund—all of which have more than 1,000 mt in their vaults. Industry Roundup Most of the world's big gold-producing com- panies announced their results for 2015 in February. First out of the blocks, however, was Russia-focused Polyus Gold, which reported the production of 1.76 million oz, up 4% year-on-year. Achievements during the year included progress in debottleneck- ing and increasing processing capacities at its Olimpiada and Blagodatnoye mines, where the mills operated 19% and 25% above their nominal capacities respectively, and the first gold pour at the company's new Poputninskoye operation. The company did not reveal its production costs. Bought out at the end of last year by at Kerimov family interests, its majority share- holder, Polyus Gold International was delist- ed from the London stock exchange, with Polyus Gold now only quoted in Moscow. In December, the company announced a joint venture with fellow-Russian Polymetal over the development of its Nezhdaninskoye deposit, which has resources reported at 20.3 million oz at a grade of 5.1 g/mt. This followed an agreement earlier in the year with China National Gold Group Corp. over future cooperation with procurement, engi- neering and project development. Australia's leading gold miner, Newcrest, produced 2.49 million oz in calendar 2015, with all-in sustaining costs averaging $763 over the year. Its output in the financial year to the end of June 2015 was 2.42 million oz, up just 1% on 2013-2014, while all-in sustaining costs for the period of $789 were markedly lower than the $ 897 reported the year before. The ramp-up at Cadia East helped to offset reduced production from Ridge- way, with Newcrest seeking approval for an increase in throughput at Cadia from 27 million to 32 million mt/y. The first North American major to report, Kinross Gold, produced 2.6 million oz of gold equivalent during 2015, down from 2.7 million oz in 2014. The company's all-in sus- taining cost of $975/oz of gold equivalent was virtually unchanged year-on-year. Adverse weather affected its Maricunga (Chile) and Paracatu (Brazil) mines during the year, resulting in lower output, although production rose at its far-east Russian mines. Benefitting from other companies' divest- ment plans, in January Kinross paid Barrick Gold $610 million for two Nevada assets— the Bald Mountain mine and the 50% of Round Mountain that it did not already own. In Mauritania, it is finalizing studies on a two-phased expansion plan at Tasiast, while in Russia, production is expected from the September Northeast target near its Dvoinoye mine in late 2017, and from Moroshka, near Kupol, in 2018. Kinross expects to produce 2.7 million-2.9 million oz of gold equivalent this year, despite the planned closure of Kettle River-Buckhorn. Barrick Tops Again Barrick's 6.12 million oz of gold in 2015 were produced at an all-in sustaining cost of $831/oz, resulting in positive free cash flow for the first time in four years, the company reported. Nonetheless, Barrick recorded a net loss of $2.84 billion for the year, follow- ing $3.1 billion in impairment charges relat- ing to adjustments to its short- and long- term gold-price assumptions to $1,000/oz for 2016 and $1,200/oz thereafter. The company's top producers, Goldstrike and Cortez, reported gold production of 1.05 million oz and 999,000 oz respective- ly. Its 60% stake in Pueblo Viejo added 572,000 oz, with the remainder accruing to its partner there, Goldcorp. Other big pro- ducers included Lagunas Norte (560,000 oz) and Valadero (602,000 oz). Recent divestments have included its holdings in Bald Mountain and Round Mountain to Kinross, Spring Valley, Ruby Hill, Cowal, and 50% of Barrick (Niugini) to Zijin Mining. It also began a streaming agreement with Royal Gold over gold and silver production from its share in Pueblo Viejo, receiving $610 million upfront with future per-ounce payments. Newmont achieved its 2015 attributa- ble production of 5.04 million oz at all-in sustaining costs of $898/oz, 10% lower than in 2014. The company reported free cash flow doubled to $756 million, with net profits for the year of $507 million. Geographically, Newmont's production came from its U.S. operations (1.6 million oz), Asia-Pacific (2.05 million oz), South America (537,000 oz) and Africa (805,000 oz), with major individual contributions from Carlin (886,000 oz) and Boddington (794,000 oz). Other significant producers included Akyem, Twin Creeks, Yanacocha and Tanami, where an expansion plan is under way. Development projects include Merian and Long Canyon, with Newmont having paid AngloGold Ashanti $820 million for the Cripple Creek & Victor mine last year. An expansion there encompasses a new leach pad, recovery plant and mill. In October, Newmont completed the sale of its Waihi mine in New Zealand to OceanaGold, realizing $101 million, bring- ing its income from non-core asset sales to $1.7 billion over the past two years. With operations at its sole remaining South African mine, South Deep, still being 34 E&MJ; • MARCH 2016 www.e-mj.com G O L D M A R K E T Open-pit mining at Tongon in Côte d'Ivoire, which produced 243,000 oz last year. (Photo: Randgold Resources)