Depending on the mine, it is below the all in costs for a lot of mines now. Mines are "high grading" to stay afloat, which reduces the total life of mine ounces available because it makes some of the lower grade that would have been blended in with high grade at high prices now take much much higher prices to be economical to mine (since the high grade is no longer there to blend). Kind of like sneaking in and eating the heart out of the watermelon and leaving the seedy part behind for later.

So yes, gold is currently at near "sweat equity" levels right now. When it gets below that, it slows down or quits coming out of the ground eventually. It also means exploration and new mine development stops. So has implications about the future of ounces available.

John