https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wealth/as-exploration-dries-up-are-we-running-out-of-gold/news-story/97eb7e26e85754923ed5f30fd658caa3
"As McKinsey suggests, the gold industry finds itself at an inflection point between the past cost-out and balance sheet deleveraging era and today’s need to focus on growth and reserve replenishment. Investors in gold miners looking for improved returns are unlikely to support the traditional means to reserve replenishment — significant M&A programs.
“The future strategic options to drive growth will differ across industry players,” McKinsey suggests, “but all players will need to consider a mix of organic [exploration] and inorganic [acquisition] approaches if they want to return to growth in an economic and sustainable way”."