By Jeff Lewis
Sept 12 (Reuters) - Gold bull John Paulson's investorcoalition on Thursday urged the world's largest gold miners toimmediately cut what it called excessive governance andadministrative (G&A) costs and said smaller rivals should pursueno-premium mergers to boost shareholder returns.
Concerns over global growth and trade uncertainties havepushed gold prices to multi-year highs, stoking expectations ofdeals among miners and reviving anxieties over cost control.This month, gold climbed to its highest level since 2013hitting $1,503.04 per ounce Thursday.
Major miners including Polymetal, Kinross GoldCorp and Newmont Goldcorp Corp spend nearly twotimes more on G&A than non-gold producing rivals, Paulson'sShareholders Gold Council said in a report.
Among mid-tier producers, Golden Star Resources,Jaguar Mining, Petropavlovsk, Dundee PreciousMetals and Eldorado Gold Corp have the highestspending levels.
The investor group urged the smaller gold miners to seeknil-premium mergers to eliminate duplication and lower costs.
"If the gold producers brought down their G&A levels closerto other mining peers, then $13 billion of value could beunlocked for shareholders," the report said.
The coalition was launched last fall by Paulson's U.S. hedgefund Paulson & Co. It includes Adrian Day Asset Management,Apogee Global Advisors, AMG Fondsverwaltung AG, DelbrookCapital, Equinox Partners LP, Equity Management Associates, JohnHathaway, Kopernik Global Investors, Livermore Partners, LaMancha and Sun Valley Gold.(Reporting by Jeff Lewis; editing by David Evans)