The world’s top gold mining companies have warned that global production of the precious metal is likely to resume a long-term decline in coming years, in spite of a record-breaking surge in the price of gold to more than $1,100 an ounce.

Much of gold’s recent rise to an all-time high of $1,122.85 last week has been due to the weaker dollar and huge inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as investors have sought sanctuary from the financial crisis by buying physical assets.