20. July 2020 | 08:22 CET
Barrick Gold, Desert Gold, Yamana Gold - the Gold Rush has begun
Gold is money. Geologists of explorers, engineers of developers and the miners of producers - all are involved in bringing the world's oldest currency to us. The precious metal is also in demand in the modern society of the 21st century, and for a significant reason: gold cannot be printed and is therefore essentially different from the so-called fiat currency of central banks. Central banks around the world are currently printing money on a large scale to provide the general public with capital to prevent unrest and the collapse of the rest of the economy.
time to read: 2 minutes by Mario Hose
"[...] We knew the world was rapidly electrifying and urbanising and needing significant amounts of copper to do so. [...]" Nick Mather, CEO, SolGold PLC
Restrictions bring economy to a standstill
During the financial crisis in 2008, the central banks for the first time concertedly provided the market with larger amounts of money with special programs. At that time, the aim was to prevent the economy from coming to a standstill. In 2020 everything will be different. Politicians have even ordered the economy to come to a standstill by imposing restrictions to stop the corona pandemic. To alleviate the side effects the money printing machines of the central banks are now running and an end is not yet in sight.
Measures without comparison
With the increase in ongoing government and central bank support packages, the level of measures is likely to soon reach ten times the levels of 2008 and 2009. Considering the alternatives, this political process is the better way forward. Those who have assets now have to protect themselves against the threat of devaluation and this is where gold comes in again. Gold is rare, difficult to find and costly to refine.
Gold at an all-time high
In many currencies the gold price is already at an all-time high. In the lead currency, the US dollar, there is not even a 10% gap until a new high is reached. The price of gold futures with a physical delivery obligation already gives an indication of what the pricing may be like over the next 18 months. The August 2020 future is currently quoted at USD 1,809.40, while the December future is already quoted at USD 1,833.20, June 2021 at USD 1,851.70 and December 2021 at USD 1,859.40. One thing is for sure, as long as the central banks increase the money supply, the demand for gold will also increase.
Gold supply will decline
Low interest rates help the states to get further into debt, virtually free of charge. In the past, interest rates were bad for the price of gold. Another reason why the demand for gold will not fall. In addition, there will still be supply bottlenecks in the gold supply, as the world's largest producers have recorded a 34% decline in reserves since 2012. Gold production is expected to peak this year and Barrick Gold expects the production volume to fall from around 118 million ounces in 2020 to less than 65 million ounces in 2029.
Takeover target with potential
Producers such as Barrick Gold and Yamana Gold are thus dependent on exploration companies such as Desert Gold Ventures, which are looking for further gold deposits in their area. Desert Gold owns more than 400 km2 of properties in West Africa in the vicinity of B2Gold, Barrick Gold and Iamgold. The current drilling program of the exploration company is expected to bring further discoveries to light. The team has been successful on several occasions in the past and is targeting the discovery of up to 6 million ounces.
In Africa, acquisitions in 2018 have already paid more than USD 200.00 per ounce in ground. At that time, however, the price of gold was significantly lower. Desert Gold's share price has been rising for several weeks now - slowly but steadily. Investors are positioning themselves with the major landowners, a takeover target par excellence.
