Gold Mining Made $171.6-billion Contribution to Global Economy in 2013

Mining Weekly reported that according to the World Gold Council, the global gold-mining industry contributed over $171.6 billion to the global economy in 2013. Furthermore, gold-mining companies constituted “a major source of income and economic growth for host countries.”

As quoted in the market news:

Globally, gold mining companies directly employed more than one-million people in 2013, with 4.2-million more people employed as a result of the industry’s suppliers and support services, Mulligan said.

The report shows that gold mining has made progress in human capital and skills development and that in most gold producing countries, more than 90% of the industry’s employees are local workers.

However, the report indicates that growth in the economic contribution of gold mining often coincides with a marked improvement in income status of host nations.

John Mulligan, a member of the World Gold Council and its head of investor relations, said:

This is the culmination of a stream of work to try and quantify the global economic footprint of formal gold mining and some of its social impacts, looking at the common themes across the industry rather than specific case studies.

Click here to read the full Mining Weekly report.