Great Panther Mining Ltd (GPLDF)

[MuskVoice]

Great Panther's all-in sustaining costs at its main gold-producing asset were roughly $1,740 per ounce in the first quarter. That's really high, and the company hopes to get that number down to between $1,150 and $1,250 for the full year (all-in sustaining costs can be materially impacted by capital-investment efforts). But using that first-quarter cost will help to show just how big the difference really is.

Great Panther's profit per ounce of gold at the start of this hypothetical day was $80. But based on the rise in the price of gold, it increased to $105 per ounce. On an absolute basis, that doesn't sound like much and certainly isn't as impressive as what Barrick is making on an absolute basis.

However, that's the point, and this is where things get interesting. Barrick's profit per ounce increased around 9%, hardly something to complain about. But because Great Panther's costs were so much higher, its profit per ounce increased just a touch over 30%! That's a huge increase.