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The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) is intended to supplement the condensed interim consolidated financial statements of Sarama Resources Ltd. (the “Company” or “Sarama”) and its subsidiaries for the three months ended March 31, 2022.
The condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2022 have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”). All amounts are expressed in United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.
This MD&A is current as at May 30, 2022.
Additional information relating to the Company is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company’s profile
OVERVIEW
Sarama is a Canadian-incorporated mineral exploration and development company whose principal business objective is to explore for and develop gold deposits in West Africa.
The Company was incorporated on April 8, 2010 under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). The Company’s primary office is located in Perth, Western Australia. The Company’s common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (“TSXV”) and the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) under the respective codes ‘SWA’ and ‘SRR’.
The Company has built and advanced substantial exploration landholdings in prospective and underexplored areas in south-west Burkina Faso, West Africa. The Company has significant interests in three projects located principally in the Houndé and Banfora Belts, which are considered highly prospective for gold and remain underexplored.
Sarama’s 100%-owned(10) Sanutura Project is principally located within the prolific Houndé Greenstone Belt in south-west Burkina Faso and is the exploration and development focus of the Company. The project hosts the Tankoro and Bondi Deposits which have a combined mineral resource of 0.6Moz gold (Indicated) and 2.3Moz gold (Inferred)(1).
Together, the deposits present a potential mine development opportunity featuring an initial, long-life CIL project which may be established and paid for by the significant oxide mineral resource base.
Sarama has built further optionality into its portfolio including a 467km², 100%-owned(10) exploration position in the highly prospective Banfora Belt in south-western Burkina Faso. The Koumandara Project hosts several regional-scale structural features and trends of gold-in-soil anomalism extending for over 40km along strike.
Sarama also holds an approximate 18% participating interest in the Karankasso Project Joint Venture (“JV”) which is situated adjacent to the Company’s Sanutura Project in Burkina Faso and is a JV between Sarama and Endeavour Mining Corp (“Endeavour”) in which Endeavour is the operator of the JV. In February 2020, an updated mineral resource estimate of 709koz gold (Inferred)(9) was declared for the Karankasso Project JV.
CORPORATE
Treasury
As at March 31, 2022, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $459,237.
Second Listing on the Australian Stock Exchange
On May 2, 2022, the Company commenced trading its securities on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) in addition to the continued listing of its common shares on the TSXV. In conjunction with the ASX listing the Company raised gross proceeds of A$8 million via the issue of 38,095,238 Chess Depositary Instruments (“CDIs”) at an issue price of A$0.21 per CDI on April 22, 2022. The Lead Manager, Euroz Hartleys Securities Limited, received 2,500,000 Broker options at an exercise price of A$0.273 and expire three years from the date of issue. It also received a capital raising fee of 6% of total gross funds raised, excluding any funds subscribed for under an agreed Chairman’s list, for which a 2% management fee was applied, and a separate management fee of A$75,000.
Proceeds raised pursuant to the ASX listing will be used, in part, to expedite an extensive drilling campaign planned to total approximately 50,000m. The planned drill programs aim to augment and upgrade the currently defined mineral resources with a focus on oxides and near surface material, to test a number of high priority targets that have the potential to significantly impact project growth, and to evaluate early-stage targets.
EXPLORATION AND EVALUATION EXPENDITURE
During the current quarter the Company incurred exploration expenditure of $239,679. The costs per active project area per each quarter for the current period ending March 31, 2022 and preceding four quarters is as follows;
For the quarter ended March 31, 2022, the Company incurred exploration expenditure of $240k. Expenditure incurred at the Sanutura Project was $203k which included drilling consumables in preparation for the exploration program ($20k), plus allocation of administration, camp and technical support ($183k). Costs at Koumandara Project of $37k which included allocation of administration, camp and technical support ($37k).
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Sarama Resources Ltd. , licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Investor Insight
Sarama Resources offers a compelling investment opportunity driven by a +US$120 million fully-funded arbitration claim and two new belt-scale gold projects encompassing 1,000 km2 of the Cosmo Newbery and Jutson Rocks Greenstone Belts in Western Australia’s prolific Eastern Goldfields.
Overview
Sarama Resources (TSXV:SWA,ASX:SRR) is an Australian gold exploration and development company with two key value drivers: a fully funded, multi-million-dollar arbitration claim and two highly prospective gold projects in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields. Each of these presents significant standalone value, while together they offer strong upside and optionality for investors.
Sarama recently secured the Cosmo Newbery and Mt Venn Gold Projects, covering 580km² and 420km² respectively. These projects encompass the majority of the greenstone belts they are located within - regions historically underexplored but geologically similar to the nearby Dorothy Hills belt, host to Gold Fields’ +8Moz Gruyere Gold Mine. Both projects offer a compelling exploration opportunity in one of Australia’s most prolific gold provinces.
In parallel, Sarama is advancing a fully funded arbitration claim against the Government of Burkina Faso, seeking no less than US$120 million in damages. The claim is backed by a non-recourse loan facility, with leading international law firm Boies Schiller Flexner - renowned for securing large settlements - engaged to lead proceedings.
The Company is led by a highly experienced board and management team with a strong track record in gold discovery and development, including the +25Moz Kibali Gold Mine and the +3Moz Sanutura Gold Project.
Sarama’s Regional Exploration Strategy
Sarama’s regional strategy is centred on unlocking value across 1,000km² of contiguous, underexplored greenstone terrane in one of Australia’s most productive gold provinces. With 100% control of the Cosmo Gold Belt and a majority stake in Mt Venn, Sarama is strategically positioned between two of the region’s most prolific gold belts - Yamarna/Dorothy Hills to the east and Laverton to the west.
Both projects share key geological signatures with nearby multi-million-ounce deposits and benefit from existing infrastructure and access. The Company’s exploration efforts will focus on high-priority targets across both belts, with systematic programs planned throughout 2025 to rapidly advance discovery.
Together, Cosmo Newbery and Mt Venn offer a rare opportunity to explore at scale in a region that has delivered some of the largest gold discoveries in recent decades - yet remains largely underexplored.
Company Highlights
- Sarama Resources is advancing two key value drivers: a fully funded, multi-million-dollar arbitration claim and two highly prospective belt-scale gold projects in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.
- The flagship Cosmo Gold Project spans 580km², covering much of the underexplored Cosmo Newbery Greenstone Belt. Complementing this, Sarama holds an 80% interest in the 420km² Mt Venn Project, located just 40km from both its Cosmo Project and Goldfields +8Moz Gruyere Gold Mine. The region has remained largely under-explored due to historical access restrictions, leaving considerable untapped potential.
- The Company is also pursuing a fully funded arbitration claim seeking not less than US$120 million in damages from the Government of Burkina Faso. This claim, related to the Sanutura Project, is supported by a non-recourse funding facility covering all legal costs, with formal proceedings initiated in December 2024.
- Sarama is led by a seasoned team with all members having over 30 years’ experience each and a strong track record in gold discovery and development.
Key Projects
Cosmo Newbery Gold Project
The Cosmo Gold Project is a unique, underexplored, belt-scale gold opportunity in Western Australia's prolific Eastern Goldfields. Sarama holds the entire Cosmo Newbery Greenstone Belt under granted exploration licenses covering approximately 583km². The belt is one of the few remaining greenstone belts in Western Australia to have seen little to no modern exploration.
The project is located approximately 85 km northeast of Laverton and 95 km west of the +8Moz Gruyere Gold Mine, operated by Gold Fields and Gold Road. The surrounding region hosts several world-class gold systems, including the Yamarna and Dorothy Hills belts to the east (home to Gruyere, the 1Moz Golden Highway, and 300koz Gilmore deposits) and the Laverton Belt to the west, with over 35Moz in gold endowment and 12Moz of historic production.
Cosmo shares strong geological and structural similarities with these prolific belts. Key elements of orogenic gold systems are present, including:
- Archaean greenstone lithologies
- Crustal-scale shear zones
- Felsic intrusions
- Localised faulting and shearing
- Historic gold mineralisation and high-grade rock chips (up to 52 g/t Au)
Despite gold first being discovered here in the 1890s, the region has seen virtually no modern exploration or drilling, offering a unique opportunity to unlock value in a highly prospective setting.
Project Highlights
- Proven Gold Terrane: Located in a world-class gold province surrounded by major deposits
- Scale and Control: 100% control of the entire Cosmo-Newbery Belt, spanning +50 km of strike
- Underexplored: Minimal historical exploration; no modern drilling of merit
- Historic Potential: Early gold discoveries in the 1890s with artisanal workings still visible
- Strategic Location: Proximal to major gold operations including the Gruyere Gold Mine and multiple large scale mines in the Laverton gold belt
Mt Venn Gold Project
The Mt Venn Gold Project is a large-scale, underexplored gold exploration asset in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, located approximately 40 km east of Sarama’s Cosmo Newbery Gold Project and 40 km west of the +8Moz Gruyere Gold Mine. Sarama holds an 80% interest in the project, which spans 420km² across a substantial portion of the Jutson Rocks Greenstone Belt - a geologically prospective system with gold first discovered in the 1890s.
Mt Venn shares many geological similarities with the Cosmo Project, and is viewed as a complementary, belt-scale exploration opportunity. The project comprises three contiguous exploration tenements and hosts a 35km gold corridor, defined by semi-continuous gold-in-soil anomalies, historic workings, and encouraging drill intercepts. Historic drilling has returned multiple results of merit, including intercepts up to 8.5 g/t Au, over a 4km trend at the Three Bears Prospect.
Geologically, Mt Venn is highly prospective, featuring:
- Archaean greenstone lithologies
- A major regional shear zone running the full 50km length of the belt (1–3 km wide)
- Favourable structural and lithological settings for orogenic gold mineralisation
Despite early discoveries, the project will benefit from a systematic, project-wide approach to exploration and offers substantial discovery potential in a proven gold district.
Project Highlights
- Proven Gold Terrane: Covers a significant part of the Jutson Rocks Greenstone Belt in a region known for major gold discoveries
- Contiguous Tenure: 420km² across three tenements, including a 35km anomalous gold corridor
- Geological Potential: Hosts a large regional shear zone with associated gold mineralisation and strong structural controls
- Historic Workings: Gold discovered in the 1890s; limited systematic follow-up exploration
- Drill-Ready Targets: Historical drilling includes intercepts up to 8.5 g/t Au at the Three Bears Prospect
- Strategic Location: Positioned 40 km from Gruyere (+8Moz), 20 km from the 1Moz Golden Highway deposit, and 40 km from Sarama’s Cosmo Gold Project
Management Team
Andrew Dinning – Executive Chairman
Andrew Dinning is a founder and the Executive Chairman of Sarama Resources. Dinning has over 35 years of experience in the international mining arena and has worked in Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, West Africa, the UK and Russia. He has extensive mine management, operations and capital markets experience and has spent most of his career in the gold sector.
Dinning was a Director and President of the Democratic Republic of Congo-based Moto Goldmines Ltd from 2005 to 2009. He oversaw the development of the company's Moto Gold Project (Kibali Gold) from two million to more than 22 million ounces of gold. Dinning took the project from exploration to pre-development. The Moto Gold project was later taken over by Randgold Resources and AngloGold Ashanti for $600 million in October 2009.
Dinning has an MBA, a First-Class Mine Managers Certificate in Western Australia and South Australia and a Bachelor of Engineering in Mining degree.
John (Jack) Hamilton - Vice-president of Exploration
Jack Hamilton is a founder and the Vice President of Exploration at Sarama Resources. Hamilton has 35 years of experience as a professional geologist. Hamilton has worked around the world for international resource companies. Before Sarama, he was the exploration manager for Moto Goldmines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At Moto Goldmines, he led the team that discovered the main deposits and resource at the world-class Moto Gold Project (now Kibali Gold) which has a resource of more than 22 million ounces.
Hamilton specializes in precious metal exploration in Birimian, Archean and Proterozoic greenstone belts. He has worked and consulted in West, Central and East Africa for the past 30 years with various companies, including Barrick Gold Corporation, Echo Bay Mines, Etruscan Resources Inc, Anglo American, Geo Services International and Moto Goldmines. Whilst at Moto Goldmines, he led the exploration team that took the Moto gold deposit from discovery to bankable feasibility. The Moto gold deposit was later sold to Randgold Resources and AngloGold Ashanti in October 2009.
Paul Schmiede - Vice-president of Corporate Development
Paul Schmiede is a major shareholder and the Vice President of Corporate Development at Sarama Resources. He is a mining engineer with over 30 years of experience in mining and exploration. Before joining Sarama Resources in 2010, Schmiede was Vice President of Operations and Project Development at Moto Goldmines. At Moto Goldmines, he managed the pre-feasibility, bankable and definitive feasibility study for the more than 22 million-ounce Democratic Republic of Congo-based Moto Gold Project (now Kibali Gold). Whilst at Moto Goldmines, he also managed the in-country environment, community studies and pre-construction activities. Before joining Moto Goldmines, he held senior operational and management positions with Goldfields and WMC Resources. At these companies, Schmiede was responsible for underground and open-pit operations as well as project development and planning.
Schmiede holds a first-class mine managers certificate in Western Australia and a Bachelor of Engineering in Mining degree. He is also a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Lui Evangelista - Chief Financial Officer
Lui Evangelista is Sarama's chief financial officer with 35 years of experience in accounting, finance and corporate governance with public companies. He has more than 20 years of experience in the mining industry - 10 years of which have been at the operational and corporate level with companies operating in Francophone Africa.
Evangelista held the positions of group financial controller and acting CFO at Anvil Mining which operated 3 mines in the DRC. He was an integral part of the senior management team that saw Anvil's market capitalization grow from C$100 million in 2005 to C$1.3 billion upon takeover by Minmetals in 2012.
Evangelista holds a Bachelor of Business in Accounting degree, a graduate diploma in business administration and a graduate diploma in applied corporate governance.
Simon Jackson - Non-executive Director
Simon Jackson is a founder, shareholder and non-executive chairman of Sarama Resources. Jackson is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of experience in the mining sector. He is the Chairman of Predictive Discovery and Non-Executive Director of African gold producer Resolute Mining. He has previously held senior management positions at Red Back Mining, Orca Gold and Beadell Resources.
Jackson specializes in M&A, public equity capital markets, management and corporate finance. His career has included corporate transactions in Canada, Australia, Africa and Indonesia. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Western Australia and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.
Adrian Byass - Non-executive Director
Adrian Byass has more than 30 years of experience in the mining industry. He has focused his career on the economic development of mineral resources. He is skilled in economic and resource geology. Byass has experience ranging from production in gold and nickel mines to the evaluation and development of mining projects with listed and unlisted entities in multiple countries. He has also held executive and non-executive board roles on both ASX and AIM-listed companies.
Byass presently operates in a corporate and market-focused capacity on a national and international basis. He has board-level experience in mine development, capital raising and M&A in Australia and on overseas stock exchanges. Byass has played key roles in a range of exploration and mining projects in Australia, Africa, North America and Europe. These projects were based on a suite of commodities including gold, base and specialty metals.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology and a Bachelor of Economics. Byass is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, a fellow of the Society of Economic Geology and a competent person for the reporting of mineral resources (JORC 2012).
Michael Bohm - Non-executive Director
Michael Bohm is a seasoned director and mining engineer in the resources industry. His career spans roles as a mining engineer, mine manager, study manager, project manager, project director, and managing director.
He has been directly involved in the development of multiple mines in the gold, nickel, and diamond industries, and made significant contributions to Ramelius Resources during its formative years. This experience is particularly important as Sarama is currently in the process of rebuilding its operations in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
He is a current director of ASX-listed Riedel Resources and has previously been a director of ASX listed Perseus Mining, Ramelius Resources, Mincor Resources NL and Cygnus Metals.
Promising new gold projects in Western Australia, plus a large fully funded arbitration claim.
Navigating Uncertainty: How Trump's Tariffs Are Affecting the Gold Market
Read on to learn how tariffs have affected the gold market and price so far.
How have tariffs affected the gold price?
The gold price has been on the rise since the beginning of the year. After briefly touching the US$3,500 per ounce level in May, it has pulled back and was trading just under US$3,400 as of Tuesday (August 26).
Gold price, January 1 to August 26, 2025.
Chart via TradingEconomics.
Although some of its increase is attributable to the points mentioned above, a significant portion is owed to a lack of information surrounding US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Initially there was no clarity on what or who was being tariffed, or when the levies would ultimately be implemented, and investors started to move into gold for greater stability and portfolio diversification.
Uncertainty about whether gold would be tariffed also had an effect, prompting traders in the US to import physical gold; this created a price differential between New York futures and the London spot price.
Concerns dissipated as the Trump administration began to nail down tariffs, but were reignited once again when US Customs and Border Patrol posted a ruling on July 31 indicating that the 39 percent tariffs against imports from Switzerland would include 1 kilogram and 100 ounce gold bars.
The news caused spot gold to spike more than 3 percent, from US$3,290 to US$3,398, and sent December futures to an all-time high of US$3,549. Meanwhile, traders halted imports of Swiss bars.
After several days of turmoil, Trump said the ruling was incorrect, and the bars would not be included in the tariff measures being applied to other Swiss imports; the gold price then retreated.
How would gold tariffs have impacted the market?
Gold functions as both a commodity and an essential part of the world’s financial system.
One kilogram and 100 ounce gold bars are used to back futures trading, and regular shipments of the metal are needed to settle contracts once they come due. A 39 percent tariff on gold from Switzerland would have been particularly disruptive, as Swiss refineries account for approximately 70 percent of the world’s gold.
According to the UN Comtrade database, in 2024, Switzerland exported more than 1,400 metric tons of unwrought gold worth more than US$106 billion, representing nearly 30 percent of the country’s total exports. Tariffs would have forced US buyers to pay a significant premium for the precious metal versus buyers in London or Shanghai.
Because gold is often used as a store of value in times of uncertainty, any kind of disruption could have had broader implications for investors looking to add stability to their portfolios.
In an email to the Investing News Network (INN), Lauren Saidel-Baker, CFA, an economist with ITR Economics, explained that gold stands out as a unique investment mechanism:
“There are psychological nuances to gold, which is commonly viewed as a safe store of value during uncertain times and an inflation hedge. Overall, the tariff would have added another facet to the already elevated policy uncertainty."
If the tariffs had remained in place, the US gold price would have had to rise to around US$4,700 per ounce to cover levies, while international prices would have remained closer to the US$3,500 mark.
“Tariffs have already complicated supply chains across industries, and this gold tariff would have been another example of added cost and complexity — but in this case, one with the potential to more directly impact investment activities,” Saidel-Baker went on to explain, emphasizing that US investors would have felt the pinch.
Could gold tariffs happen in the future?
Given Trump's unpredictability, especially when it comes to tariffs, it's possible that gold levies could enter the conversation again. However, by and large experts agree that the matter is closed.
“I think it’s pretty clear at this point that there’s no intention to put tariffs on physical gold imports, and I think that would be very damaging and destructive if they did,” Stefan Gleason, CEO of Money Metals, told INN.
Keith Weiner, founder and CEO of Monetary Metals, offered another perspective, saying that although the gold tariff threat is over, the tumult could have long-term effects on the market.
"Once you've put the scare into everybody, you can't just say, 'Oh, sorry, just kidding.' You can't really do that. And so now we've done damage, and we'll see what happens to that spread over time. We'll see how users of the futures market adapt. There are other markets in the world that would be competing for," he explained.
"This hedging business, you know, maybe it moves to Singapore, maybe it moves to Dubai, maybe it moves to London, and the US loses not only a little more trust, but also a little bit of volume on what had been the biggest — or what is currently the biggest — futures market," Weiner added to INN.
Market participants will be watching closely for future impacts on the yellow metal.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
What Was the Highest Price for Gold?
Gold market gurus from Lynette Zang to Chris Blasi to Jordan Roy-Byrne have shared eye-popping predictions on the gold price that would intrigue any investor — gold bug or not.
Some have posited that the gold price may rise as high as US$4,000 or US$5,000 per ounce, and there are those who believe that US$10,000 gold or even US$40,000 gold could become a reality.
These impressive price predictions have investors wondering, what is gold's all-time high (ATH)?
In the past year, gold has reached a new all-time high dozens of times. Find out what has driven it to these levels, plus how the gold price has moved historically and what has driven its performance in recent years.
In this article
How is gold traded?
Before discovering what the highest gold price ever was, it’s worth looking at how the precious metal is traded. Knowing the mechanics behind gold's historical moves can help illuminate why and how its price changes.
Gold bullion is traded in dollars and cents per ounce, with activity taking place worldwide at all hours, resulting in a live price for the metal. Investors trade gold in major commodities markets such as New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. London is seen as the center of physical precious metals trading, including for silver. The COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange is home to most paper trading.
There are many popular ways to invest in gold. The first is through purchasing gold bullion products such as bullion bars, bullion coins and rounds. Physical gold is sold on the spot market, meaning that buyers pay a specific price per ounce for the metal and then have it delivered. In some parts of the world, such as India, buying gold in the form of jewelry is the largest and most traditional route to investing in gold.
Another path to gold investment is paper trading, which is done through the gold futures market. Participants enter into gold futures contracts for the delivery of gold in the future at an agreed-upon price.
In such contracts, two positions can be taken: a long position under which delivery of the metal is accepted or a short position to provide delivery of the metal. Paper trading as a means to invest in gold can provide investors with the flexibility to liquidate assets that aren’t available to those who possess physical gold bullion.
One significant long-term advantage of trading in the paper market is that investors can benefit from gold’s safe-haven status without needing to store it. Furthermore, gold futures trading can offer more financial leverage in that it requires less capital than trading in the physical market.
Interestingly, investors can also purchase physical gold via the futures market, but the process is complicated and lengthy and comes with a large investment and additional costs.
Aside from those options, market participants can invest in gold through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Investing in a gold ETF is similar to trading a gold stock on an exchange, and there are numerous gold ETF options to choose from. For instance, some ETFs focus solely on physical gold bullion, while others focus on gold futures contracts. Other gold ETFs center on gold-mining stocks or follow the gold spot price.
It is important to understand that you will not own any physical gold when investing in an ETF — in general, even a gold ETF that tracks physical gold cannot be redeemed for tangible metal.
With regards to the performance of gold versus trading stocks, gold has an interesting relationship with the stock market. The two often move in sync during “risk-on periods” when investors are bullish. On the flip side, they tend to become inversely correlated in times of volatility. There are a variety of options for investing in stocks, including gold mining stocks on the TSX and ASX, gold juniors, precious metals royalty companies and gold stocks that pay dividends.
According to the World Gold Council, gold's ability to decouple from the stock market during periods of stress makes it “unique amongst most hedges in the marketplace.” It is often during these times that gold outperforms the stock market. For that reason, it is often used as a portfolio diversifier to hedge against uncertainty.
What was the highest gold price ever?
The gold price peaked at US$3,500.05, its all-time high, during trading on April 22, 2025.
Gold price chart, January 1, 2025, to August 11, 2025.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
What drove it to set this new ATH? Gold reached its highest price amid concern that Trump would remove Jerome Powell as chair of the US Federal Reserve. Falling markets and a declining US dollar continued to support gold, as did increased gold purchasing in China in response to US tariffs on the country. Gold pulled back below US$3,400 later in the day as Trump stated he didn't plan to fire Powell and that he may lower tariffs on China.
The gold price set a string of new highs in the month of April amid high market volatility as markets reacted to tariff decisions from Trump and the escalating trade war between the US and China. By April 11, Trump had raised US tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent and China has raised its tariffs on US products to 125 percent.
On April 9, Trump paused his higher "Liberation Day" tariffs on any countries that did not reciprocate in response. However, the blanket 10 percent tariffs still stand, as do the 25 percent tariffs on the automotive sector.
Why is the gold price setting new highs in 2025?
This string of record-breaking highs this year are caused by several factors.
Increased economic and geopolitical turmoil caused by the new Trump administration has been a tailwind for gold this year, as well as a weakening US dollar, sticky inflation in the country and increased safe haven gold demand.
Since coming into office in late January, Trump has threatened or enacted tariffs on many countries, including currently paused blanket tariffs on longtime US allies Canada and Mexico and tariffs on the European Union. Trump has also implemented 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.
As for the effect of these widespread tariffs raising prices for the American populace, Trump has reiterated his sentiment that the US may need to go through a period of economic pain to enter a new "golden age" of economic prosperity. Elon Musk's call to audit the gold holdings in Fort Knox has also brought attention to the yellow metal.
What factors have driven the gold price in the last five years?
Despite these recent runs, gold has seen its share of both peaks and troughs over the last decade. After remaining rangebound between US$1,100 and US$1,300 from 2014 to early 2019, gold pushed above US$1,500 in the second half of 2019 on a softer US dollar, rising geopolitical issues and a slowdown in economic growth.
Gold’s first breach of the significant US$2,000 price level in mid-2020 was due in large part to economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To break through that barrier and reach what was then a record high, the yellow metal added more than US$500, or 32 percent, to its value in the first eight months of 2020.
Gold price chart, August 10, 2020, to August 11, 2025.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
The gold price surpassed that level again in early 2022 as Russia's invasion of Ukraine collided with rising inflation around the world, increasing the allure of safe-haven assets and pulling the yellow metal up to a price of US$2,074.60 on March 8, 2022. However, it fell throughout the rest of 2022, dropping below US$1,650 in October.
Although it didn't quite reach the level of volatility as the previous year, the gold price experienced drastic price changes in 2023 on the back of banking instability, high interest rates and the breakout of war in the Middle East.
After central bank buying pushed the gold price up to the US$1,950.17 mark by the end of January, the US Federal Reserve’s 0.25 percent rate hike on February 1 sparked a retreat as the dollar and Treasury yields saw gains. The precious metal went on to fall to its lowest price level of the year at US$1,809.87 on February 23.
The banking crisis that hit the US in early March caused a domino effect through the global financial system and led to the mid-March collapse of Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank. The gold price jumped to US$1,989.13 by March 15. The continued fallout in the global banking system throughout the second quarter of the year allowed gold to break above US$2,000 on April 3, and go on to flirt with a near-record high of US$2,049.92 on May 3.
Those gains were tempered by the Fed’s ongoing rate hikes and improvements in the banking sector, resulting in a downward trend in the gold price throughout the remainder of the second quarter and throughout Q3. By October 4, gold had fallen to a low of US$1,820.01 and analysts expected the precious metal to drop below US$1,800.
That was before the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel ignited legitimate fears of a much larger conflict erupting in the Middle East. Reacting to those fears, and to rising expectations that the Fed would begin to reverse course on interest rates, gold broke through the important psychological level of US$2,000 and closed at US$2,007.08 on October 27. As the fighting intensified, gold reached a then-new high of US$2,152.30 in intraday trading on December 3.
That robust momentum in the spot gold price continued into 2024, chasing new highs on fears of a looming US recession, the promise of Fed rate cuts on the horizon, the worsening conflict in the Middle East and the tumultuous US presidential election year. By mid-March, gold was pushing up against the US$2,200 level.
That record-setting momentum continued into the second quarter of 2024 when gold broke through US$2,400 in mid-April on strong central bank buying, sovereign debt concerns in China and investors expecting the Fed to start cutting interest rates. The precious metal went on to hit US$2,450.05 on May 20.
Throughout the summer, the hits kept on coming.
The global macro environment was highly bullish for gold in the lead up to the US election. Following the failed assassination attempt on Trump and a statement about coming interest rate cuts by Fed Chair Powell, the gold spot price hit a then new all-time high on July 16 at US$2,469.30. One week later, news that then-President Joe Biden would not seek re-election and would instead pass the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris eased some of the tension in the stock markets and strengthened the US dollar. This also pushed the price of gold down to US$2,387.99 on July 22, 2024.
However, the bullish factors supporting gold remained in play, and the spot price for gold went on to breach US$2,500 on August 2 that year on a less than stellar US jobs report; it closed just above the US$2,440 level. A few weeks later, gold pushed past US$2,500 once again on August 16, closing above that level for the first time ever after the US Department of Commerce released data showing a fifth consecutive monthly decrease in a row for homebuilding.
The news that the Chinese government issued new gold import quotas to banks in the country following a two month pause also helped fuel the gold price rally. Central bank gold buying has been a significant tailwind for the gold price this year, and China's central bank has been one of the strongest buyers.
Market watchers expected the Fed to cut interest rates by a quarter point at their September 2024 meeting, but news on September 12 that the regulators were still deciding between the expected cut or a larger half-point cut led gold prices on a rally that carried through into the next day, bringing gold prices near US$2,600.
At the September 18 Fed meeting, the committee ultimately made the decision to cut rates by half a point, news that sent gold even higher. By September 20, it moved above US$2,600 and held above US$2,620.
In October 2024, gold first breached the US$2,700 level and continued to higher on a variety of factors, including further rate cuts and economic data anticipation, the escalating conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah, and economic stimulus in China — not to mention the very close race between the US presidential candidates.
While the gold price fell following Trump's win in early November and largely held under US$2,700 through the end of the year, it began trending upwards in 2025 to the new all-time high discussed earlier in the article.
What's next for the gold price?
What's next for the gold price is never an easy call to make. There are many factors to consider, but some of the most prevalent long-term drivers include economic expansion, market risk, opportunity cost and momentum.
Economic expansion is one of the primary gold price contributors as it facilitates demand growth in several categories, including jewelry, technology and investment. As the World Gold Council explains, “This is particularly true in developing economies where gold is often used as a luxury item and a means to preserve wealth.”
Market risk is also a prime catalyst for gold values as investors view the precious metal as the “ultimate safe haven,” and a hedge against currency depreciation, inflation and other systemic risks.
Going forward, in addition to the Fed, inflation and geopolitical events, experts will be looking for cues from factors like supply and demand. In terms of supply, the world’s five top gold producers are China, Australia, Russia, Canada and the US. The consensus in the gold market is that major miners have not spent enough on gold exploration in recent years. Gold mine production has fallen from around 3,200 to 3,300 metric tons (MT) each year between 2018 and 2020 to around 3,000 to 3,100 MT each year between 2021 and 2023.
On the demand side, China and India are the biggest buyers of physical gold, and are in a perpetual fight for the title of world’s largest gold consumer. That said, it's worth noting that the last few years have brought a big rebound in central bank gold buying, which dropped to a record low in 2020, but reached a 55 year high of 1,136 MT in 2022.
World Gold Council data shows 2024 central bank gold purchases came to 1,044.6 MT, marking the third year in a row above 1,000 MT. In H1 2025, the organization says gold purchases from central banks reached 415.1 MT.
“I expect the Fed’s rate-cutting cycle to be good for gold, but central bank buying has been and remains a major factor," Lobo Tiggre, CEO of IndependentSpeculator.com, told the Investing News Network (INN) at the start of Q4 2024.
David Barrett, CEO of the UK division of global brokerage firm EBC Financial Group, is also keeping an eye on central bank purchases of gold. “I still see the global central bank buying as the main driver — as it has been over the last 15 years,” he said in an email to INN. "This demand removes supply from the market. They are the ultimate buy-and-hold participants and they have been buying massive amounts."
In addition to central bank moves, analysts are also watching for escalating tensions in the Middle East, a weakening US dollar, declining bond yields, and further interest rate cuts as factors that could push gold higher as investors look to secure their portfolios. “When it comes to outside factors that affect the market, it’s just tailwind after tailwind after tailwind. So I don’t really see the trend changing,” Coffin said.
Randy Smallwood of Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM,NYSE:WPM) told INN in March 2025 that gold is seeing support from many factors, including central bank buying, nervousness around the US dollar and stronger institutional interest. Smallwood is seeing an influx of fund managers wanting to learn about precious metals.
Joe Cavatoni, senior market strategist, Americas, at the World Gold Council, believes that market risk and uncertainty surrounding tariffs and continued demand from central banks are the main drivers of gold.
"Market risk in particular is a key strategic driver for the gold price and performance," Cavatoni told INN in a July 2025 interview. "Think strategically when you think about gold, and keep that allocation in mind."
Check out more of INN's interviews to find out what experts have said about the gold price during its 2025 bull run and where it could go next.
Should you beware of gold price manipulation?
It’s important for investors to be aware that gold price manipulation is a hot topic in the industry.
In 2011, when gold hit what was then a record high, it dropped swiftly in just a few short years. This decline after three years of impressive gains led many in the gold sector to cry foul and point to manipulation.
Early in 2015, 10 banks were hit in a US probe on precious metals manipulation.
Evidence provided by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) showed “smoking gun” proof that UBS Group (NYSE:UBS), HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC), the Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS,NYSE:BNS and other firms were involved in rigging gold and silver rates in the market from 2007 to 2013. Not long after, the long-running London gold fix was replaced by the LBMA gold price in a bid to increase gold price transparency. The twice-a-day process, operated by the ICE Benchmark Administration, still involves a variety of banks collaborating to set the gold price, but the system is now electronic.
Still, manipulation has by no means been eradicated, as a 2020 fine on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shows. The next year, chat logs were released in a spoofing trial for two former precious metals traders from the Bank of America's (NYSE:BAC) Merrill Lynch unit. They show a trader bragging about how easy it is to manipulate the gold price.
Gold market participants have consistently spoken out about manipulation. In mid-2020, Chris Marcus, founder of Arcadia Economics and author of the book “The Big Silver Short,” said that when gold fell back below the US$2,000 mark after hitting close to US$2,070, he saw similarities to what happened with the gold price in 2011.
Marcus has been following the gold and silver markets with a focus specifically on price manipulation for nearly a decade. His advice? “Trust your gut. I believe we’re witnessing the ultimate ’emperor’s really naked’ moment. This isn’t complex financial analysis. Sometimes I think of it as the greatest hypnotic thought experiment in history.”
Investor takeaway
While we have the answer to what the highest gold price ever is as of now, it remains to be seen how high gold can climb, and if the precious metal can reach as high as US$5,000, US$10,000 or even US$40,000.
Even so, many market participants believe gold is a must have in any investment profile, and there is little doubt investors will continue to see gold price action making headlines this year and beyond.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2020.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
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