Gold Producers Prefer Costly Fields

Russia?s Gold Producers Union said that the share of cost-effective underground gold production in Russian gold output will greatly increase in some next years; however, a lack of large uncovered deposits restrains gold production in the country.

Those fields which contain less gold but easier to extract, are becoming depleted. Now gold miners prefer the deposits which are more costly but bring higher returns.

Valery Braiko, the head of the Union, said the share of underground mining, which is now 56 percent of Russia?s gold output, would increase steadily by 2-3 percent a year until 2010.