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Mining Cost Benchmarks

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Industry cost data from published sources · CostMine · S&P Global · Company reports · Government statistics

Region:Type:
Low Quartile
$9.50/t
Median
$18.10/t
High Quartile
$31.90/t
Data Year
2024

Open Pit Cost Breakdown — Africa

CategoryLow Q1MedianHigh Q3Unit% of TotalSource
Drill & Blast		$0.80$1.40$2.20$/t moved
8%
CostMine 2024, African OP benchmarks
Load & Haul		$1.20$2.10$3.50$/t moved
12%
S&P Global 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa
Ancillary/Support		$0.30$0.60$1.00$/t moved
3%
CostMine 2024
Processing/Milling		$4.50$8.50$15.00$/t milled
47%
S&P Global 2024, African base metals
G&A/Overheads		$1.50$3.00$5.50$/t milled
17%
Company reports composite 2023-24
Maintenance		$1.00$2.00$3.50$/t milled
11%
CostMine 2024
Environmental & Rehab		$0.20$0.50$1.20$/t milled
3%
DRC/Zambia/SA regulatory filings
TOTAL$9.50$18.10$31.90$/t

Cost Stack (Median)

$1.4
Drill & Blast
$2.1
Load & Haul
$0.6
Ancillary
$8.5
Processing
$3
G&A
$2
Maintenance
$0.5
Environmental & Rehab

Commodity AISC — Africa

Gold
$1,150
$/oz
World Gold Council 2024, African avg
Copper
$2.15
$/lb
S&P Global 2024, African Copperbelt
Cobalt
$15.5
$/lb
CRU Group 2024, DRC artisanal excluded
PGMs
$980
$/oz 4E
SA PGM producers composite 2024
Coal (thermal)
$45
$/t ROM
SA coal producers 2024
Manganese
$3.2
$/dmtu
S&P Global 2024, SA/Gabon

Data Sources & Methodology

  • •S&P Global Market Intelligence 2024
  • •CostMine Mining Cost Service 2024
  • •Company NI 43-101 Technical Reports
  • •African Mining IQ
  • •Chamber of Mines annual reports
  • •Costs are in USD, converted at prevailing rates where applicable
  • •Quartile ranges represent industry distribution, not confidence intervals
  • ⚠Cost data is indicative and should not replace site-specific engineering estimates

Defensible References

Industry Cost Databases
CostMine Mining Cost Service ↗
Annual mining/milling cost data by equipment type, region, and method. Industry standard.
S&P Global Market Intelligence ↗
Mine-level cost data for 2,000+ operations worldwide. AISC, C1, sustaining capex.
Wood Mackenzie Mining ↗
Asset-level cost curves, marginal cost analysis, supply forecasting.
CRU Group ↗
Commodity-specific cost analysis (base metals, battery materials).
AME Research ↗
Cost curves and benchmarking for coal, copper, gold, iron ore.
Publicly Available Reports & Data
World Gold Council — Gold Mine Costs ↗
AISC by region and producer. Quarterly updates. Free access.
USGS Minerals Yearbook ↗
US government mineral production and cost statistics. Public domain.
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) ↗
Canadian mining statistics, production costs, and employment data.
COCHILCO (Chile Copper Commission) ↗
Chilean copper industry costs, production data, and market analysis.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) ↗
Australian mining output, costs, and employment statistics.
Technical Standards & Reporting Codes
NI 43-101 (SEDAR+) ↗
Canadian securities filings — technical reports with detailed cost estimates for every listed mining project.
JORC Code (ASX) ↗
Australasian reporting code. ASX-listed companies publish cost data in JORC-compliant reports.
SEC S-K 1300 (EDGAR) ↗
US SEC mining disclosure. Property-level cost data from US-listed miners.
CIM Standards ↗
Canadian Institute of Mining standards for mineral resource/reserve estimation with cost assumptions.
Regional Mining Authorities
Zambia — ZCCM-IH / ZRA ↗
Zambian mining fiscal data and revenue reports.
DRC — ITIE/EITI Reports ↗
DRC Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative — payments, costs, revenues.
South Africa — DMRE / Minerals Council ↗
SA mining industry facts and figures, cost benchmarks, safety statistics.
African Mining IQ ↗
Active mining projects database across Africa with cost and status data.
MINING COST BENCHMARKS · PUBLISHED SOURCES · OPEN PIT & UNDERGROUND · GLOBAL REGIONS
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