THE DIRECT ANSWER
A mine margin is a chain of assumptions, not a single gold-price number
A comparable calculation needs a named gold price, payable gold ounces, cost definition, period and currency. The same spot price can produce very different site outcomes when grade, recovery, strip ratio, energy, royalties, sustaining capital, byproduct credits or hedges change. This tool keeps those assumptions visible and editable.
Enter a comparable payable-production and cost case. The worksheet shows the price required to cover the three entered site-cost layers, then makes the price sensitivity visible. It does not estimate reserves, mine life, taxes, financing, corporate overhead or a company's reported AISC.
EVIDENCE CONTEXT · OPTIONAL
Keep the document identity beside the arithmetic
These fields do not change the result. They travel with the shared URL and CSV so a later comparison does not lose its source, period or ownership basis.
Loading the source-labelled local gold reference…
FROM EVIDENCE TO ECONOMICS
Production is a gate in the lifecycle, not an automatic conclusion
Use the worksheet after checking what the underlying record actually supports. Exploration evidence, resource and reserve definitions, permits, processing design and payable ounces answer different questions; the calculator only performs the final scenario arithmetic once those inputs are documented.
HOW TO READ THE OUTPUT
Four numbers answer four different questions
Price multiplied by annual payable gold. It is not company revenue after provisional pricing, hedges, byproducts or ownership.
Cash cost, sustaining capital and site charges are shown separately before they are summed.
Revenue less the entered site-cost layers. It excludes corporate, finance, tax and other omitted items.
The entered total site cost per payable ounce. It is not a reserve cut-off price or a guaranteed floor.
REPORTING BOUNDARY
Do not turn a scenario into a company comparison without matching definitions
Before comparing two project reports, record the project name, document type, document date, operating period and ownership basis. Then check whether payable ounces, price basis, cost layers and royalty treatment use the same definitions. An empty field remains an evidence gap; it is never treated as zero.
PRIMARY SOURCE BOUNDARY
Use official sources for definitions, not invented cost numbers
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 supplies national production and reserve context; it does not provide a universal mine-level cost curve.
- SEC mining disclosure guidance identifies technical-report areas such as geology, mining, processing, infrastructure, environmental matters and economics that must be read for a project-specific case.
- Company cost and production figures should be taken from the exact issuer report, period, currency, ownership and definition. This page does not scrape or redistribute a company cost dataset.
Default gold price, when available, comes from the source-labelled GoldObserve market endpoint and remains visibly separate from the user-entered mining assumptions.
FAQ
Gold mine economics questions
What does this gold mine economics calculator calculate?
It multiplies an entered gold price by annual payable ounces, subtracts entered cash cost, sustaining capital and royalty or site charges, and shows a mechanical site margin and break-even price.
Is the break-even price an official AISC?
No. It is the sum of the three cost layers entered by the user. Company AISC definitions can include different costs, byproduct credits, streams, royalties, corporate items or adjustments.
Does the tool estimate gold reserves or mine life?
No. Reserves, resources, mine life and production schedules require a project-specific technical and economic record. This worksheet only performs annual scenario arithmetic.
Does a positive site margin mean a mining company is profitable?
No. Corporate overhead, exploration, closure, financing, taxes, hedges, working capital, ownership interests and accounting policies may sit outside this simplified site case.