Gold bullion prices have increased 26 percent this year and profits have risen, but the world's biggest gold miners are still paring costs and selling assets to chip away at debt rather than boosting spending.

Some investors had expected mining companies to lift spending on exploration, expansion or dividends during a largely upbeat financial reporting season, rather than keep shaving costs.

"They're still, by and large, in cost-cutting mode and hunkering down, even though conditions have improved over the last five or six months," said Jeremy Sussman, global mining analyst at Clarksons Platou Securities in New York.