For
some foreign countries, owing to the difficulty of obtaining accurate
statistics since the beginning of the European war, estimates have been
made for 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1918; for a few other countries,
because of lack of basis for estimates, the figures for preceding
years have been repeated.
The
figures given for the years 1904 to 1912, inclusive, are taken from the
reports of the Director of the Mint. The statistics for 1913 to 1918,
inclusive, were mainly adjusted in conference between the Mint and the
Geological Survey.
The notable increase of total world's output of gold culminated in a new record of $468,724,918 in 1915.
The
estimated world's production of gold in 1916 was $454,176,500, or about
$14,500,000 less than in 1915; that of 1917 was $49,000,000 less than
in 1915; and that of 1918, $87,800,000 less than in 1915.
The
present tendency, in the absence of discovery and development of new
gold fields on a large scale, is toward a declining world's output of
new gold, and this tendency is accentuated by the high cost of labor
and supplies, which makes the operation of many gold mines
unprofitable. There will probably be another substantial decrease in
the world's output in 1919, although the production of Canada, Mexico,
and some South American countries may show an increase.
