Newmont Corp on Thursday forecast gold production of 6.2 million ounces for 2022, up from the 6 million ounces it expects to produce this year, highlighting output increases from the Boddington mine in Australia and Ahafo in Ghana.

Total gold production combined with other metals is expected to be 7.5 million gold equivalent ounces in 2022, the company said.

Gold prices have gained recently as investors seek safer assets amid market volatility caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Newmont said it expects all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,050 per ounce in 2022, improving to between $920 and $1,020 per ounce longer term. AISC is a key industry metric used by gold miners to measure overall cost of producing gold.

The Denver, Colorado-based company expects its full-year gold production to improve to between 6.2 million and 6.8 million ounces over a longer period.

(Reporting by Ruhi Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sriraj Kalluvila) ((Ruhi.Soni@thomsonreuters.com ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruhithere ;;))