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Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX: HRZ) (“Horizon” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding Toll Milling Agreement (“TMA”) with FMR Investments Pty Ltd (“FMR”) to treat 200kt of Horizon ore from the Cannon underground project, or other deposit, commencing in the December 2024 Quarter.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Binding TMA has been executed with FMR, which owns the Greenfields Mill located northeast of Coolgardie and 30km southwest of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in WA
- Horizon will arrange contract mining and hauling of ore from Cannon for ore processing at FMR’s 1.0Mtpa Greenfields Mill, located ~67km by road from the Cannon Project
- An agreed 200kt of ore will be processed over a period of eight months, commencing in the December 2024 Quarter
- The TMA contains competitive ore treatment rates with the payment structure as follows:
- Horizon is responsible for delivery of each stockpile to the Greenfields Mill ROM near Coolgardie
- Payment of processing costs must be made before the value of the processed and refined gold at the Perth Mint is transferred from FMR’s metal account to Horizon
- If the delivery schedule is missed Horizon will forfeit its allocated tonnes for that month and from the overall 200kt allocation
- An Ore Reserve for Cannon has already been established including forecast economics for the ore to be processed via a Toll Milling Agreement 1
- Cannon is fully environmentally permitted (with last mining in 2017) with pre-production activities are already underway, including dewatering of the open pit in preparation for underground mining
- The TMA has flexibility that Horizon can treat Horizon ore other than Cannon, including Horizon’s own current resources or those acquired through the proposed merger with Greenstone Resources Limited, provided sufficient notice is provided to FMR
Commenting on the toll milling agreement, Chief Executive Officer Mr Grant Haywood said: 2
“We are very pleased to have converted our 200,000 tonne allocation with FMR into a formal Toll Milling Agreement, and look forward to working closely with them as ore deliveries will commence later this calendar year. This agreement is in addition to our 1.4Mt ore sale agreement with Paddington announced a week ago. Together this will see us generating cash flow from two fronts in this fantastic gold price environment before the end of 2024.”
Figure 1: Horizon’s project locations, regional geology and surrounding infrastructure
Next Steps 1
- AMC Consultants has been engaged and undertaken a review of the Cannon Ore Reserve and will progress the revised key financial outcomes for the June 2024 Quarter
- Finalise engagement with underground mining and haulage contractors to finalise tenders for Cannon
- Complete the proposed merger with Greenstone Resources to enhance the long-term production profile with development ready high-grade projects
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Horizon Minerals Limited, 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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Horizon Minerals
Investor Insight
Horizon Minerals’ near-term cash-flow potential and its significant land package in the prolific Western Australian goldfields with considerable exploration upside position the company to positively leverage the current bull gold market opportunity.
Overview
Horizon Minerals (ASX:HRZ) is an ASX-listed emerging mid-tier gold mining company focusing on a portfolio of highly promising gold projects located in the world-class Western Australian goldfields. The recent merger with Greenstone has added nearly 0.5 million ounces (Moz) of high-grade resource to Horizon, taking its total tally to 1.8 Moz, and resulted in Horizon Minerals total land package of 939 sq km in the Kalgoorlie-Coolgardie district.
The Greenstone merger brings near-term cash-generating opportunities and adds greater scale to its baseload assets (Boorara) with the high-grade Burbanks deposit. Horizon’s dual-track strategy involves generating immediate cash flows by leveraging a pipeline of development-ready production assets and concurrently advancing the cornerstone assets, Boorara and Burbanks, which have a combined resource inventory of 914 koz at 1.7 grams per ton (g/t) gold with potential to support a profitable, long-life operation.
The recent ore sale agreement with Paddington Gold is encouraging and increases confidence in the management’s ability to generate near-term cash flows. Under the agreement, 1.4 million (Mt) will be processed over a period of 22 months. The agreement allows Horizon to capitalize on high gold prices to generate significant cash flows.
Horizon is also progressing with other projects, including the Cannon gold project and Penny’s Find underground mine, and actively exploring for new discoveries in the Western Australian Goldfields, targeting gold and other commodities such as nickel-cobalt, silver-zinc, PGEs and lithium across its extensive land holdings. Additionally, Horizon holds a significant stake in one of the world’s largest vanadium projects via its investment in Richmond Vanadium Technology, which is listed on the ASX.
Horizon proposes to acquire 100 percent of Poseidon via an all-scrip transaction for AU$30 million to consolidate 1.8Moz gold and highly strategic processing infrastructure for Horizon to transition to the next standalone WA gold producer. The acquisition will combine Horizon’s large gold resource and Poseidon’s Black Swan processing infrastructure in the Kalgoorlie-Coolgardie districts. The transaction will further result in substantial resource base and regional tenure to a combined JORC mineral resources of ~1.8Moz gold at an average grade of 1.84g/t gold and 422,700t nickel at an average grade of 1 percent nickel. Horizon and Poseidon will have a total of 1,309 sq. km. tenure in an attractive geological position in the WA Goldfields.
Horizon aims to become a sustainable, 100kozpa standalone producer following the merger and conversion and recommissioning of the Black Swan processing plant. The 2.2Mtpa processing facility is strategically located 40 km north of Kalgoorlie with a concentrator readily amenable to processing gold through cost-effective refurbishment and the addition of a new CIL circuit.
Horizon's 30Mt existing gold resources, with 50,000 metres of drilling fully funded to commence drilling in 2025 or 2026, strongly support the conversion of the Black Swan processing plant to a gold plant.
Company Highlights
- Horizon Minerals is an emerging mid-tier gold producer with an extensive portfolio of highly promising gold projects located in the world-class Western Australian goldfields.
- The recently completed merger with Greenstone Resources positions Horizon as a mid-tier gold producer in the Western Australian Goldfields. The combined entity enhanced Horizon’s portfolio with two complementary cornerstone gold assets — Burbanks and Boorara (combined resource of 914,000 oz).
- Mineral resource updates after the merger include 1.8Moz gold, 20.2Moz silver, 104kt zinc, 283kt nickel, 40.5kt cobalt and 296.2kt manganese.
- Changes to the gold MREs include:
- Addition of 297,650oz from Burbanks open pit
- Addition of 167,920oz from Burbanks underground
- Addition of 13,000oz from Pinner
- Addition of 3,000oz from Monument
- Reduction of 20,240oz from Boorara
- Horizon has announced a proposed merger with Poseidon Nickel Limited with Horizon having in ground gold assets that can be processed, and Poseidon having processing facilities including the Black Swan plant, which Horizon proposed to refurbish and repurpose from a concentrator into a gold CIL plant.
- Open pit mining has commenced at the Boorara gold project in August 2024 and the first ore was exposed and mined in late September 2024, with first ore being delivered to the Paddington mill for processing.
- Horizon also recently commenced mining at its recently acquired Phillips Find project with ore to be processed at the Greenfields mill near Coolgardie from February to June 2025.
- Horizon is also progressing with other projects, including the Cannon and Penny’s Find underground mines.
- Amidst the current record gold prices, Horizon seeks to capitalize on this opportunity by advancing its substantial resource endowment towards development, thereby generating cash flow.
Key Projects
Boorara Gold Project
The Boorara gold project is located 15 km east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the Western Australian goldfields. Over the past decade, a substantial amount of reverse circulation and diamond drilling has been carried out at Boorara. The project includes a JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate (MRE) by Optiro (now Snowden Optiro), which reported a total of 10.53 Mt grading at 1.26 g/t gold, amounting to 448,000 ounces.
The company views Boorara as a substantial baseload feed source that could be enhanced by lower tonnage, higher-grade feed to sustain a standalone milling facility. This is where the recent acquisition of Greenstone becomes important. Boorara can be supplemented by higher-grade feed from Greenstone’s Burbanks deposit to support an integrated operation.
The Independent JORC (2012) Ore Reserve for Boorara, completed by AMC Consultants, shows a financially viable project highlighted by an open pit mine design producing 1.24 Mt at a fully diluted grade of 1.24 g/t gold for 49.5 koz over an approximate 14-month mine life, and ore sale agreement at 92.5 percent metallurgical recovery produces 45.8 koz recovered.
Boorara commenced open pit mining in August 2024, with the first ore exposed and mined in late September 2024. Mining at the site will occur over 14 months and processing over 19 months at Norton Gold Fields’ Paddington plant to generate $30 million in estimated free cashflow at a AU$3,600/oz gold price.
Phillips Find Gold Project
The Phillips Find gold project is located 45 km north-west of Coolgaride, Western Australia in the heart of the Western Australian goldfields covering 10 kilometres of strike over prospective greenstone stratigraphy. The project includes the Phillips Find Mining Centre (PFMC) where approximately 33,000 ounces of gold were produced between 1998. A joint venture (JV) agreement is in place with mining specialists BML Ventures Pty Limited (BML) to develop and mine two open pits at Phillips Find. Horizon Minerals plans to commence the grade control program early in December and the first mining of ore in December 2024. The first ore from Phillips Find is on track to be treated at FMR’s Greenfields mill from February 2025 to June 2025
Nimbus Silver-Zinc Project
The 100 percent owned Nimbus silver-zinc-lead-gold deposit is located 15 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia within the Kalgoorlie Terrane. The project's current mineral resource estimate (JORC 2012) includes 12.1 million tons at 52 g/t silver, 0.2 g/t gold and 0.9 percent zinc containing 20.2 million oz of silver, 78,000 oz of gold and 104,000 tons of zinc using lower cut-off grades of 12 ppm for silver, 0.5 percent for zinc and 0.3 g/t for gold over a 2 metre down hole composite. Within this global resource, the Nimbus project has a high-grade silver and zinc resource of 255,898 tons at 773 g/t silver and 13 percent zinc.
A concept study has confirmed the optimal economic development pathway by mining the higher-grade lodes and generation of a silver/zinc concentrate. A programme of work (POW) has been approved and drilling to test the exploration target is expected to be undertaken in the first half of 2025. The Nimbus project is 2 km east of Horizon's cornerstone Boorara project and 6.5 km north-northwest of Golden Ridge, both historic gold mining centres.
Burbanks Gold Project
The Burbanks gold project is situated 9 km southeast of Coolgardie, Western Australia. The project encompasses the Burbanks Mining Centre and more than 5 kilometers of the highly promising Burbanks Shear Zone, historically the most significant gold-producing structure within the Coolgardie Goldfield. Previous underground production at Burbanks has surpassed 420,000 oz to date.
Burbanks currently hosts a total resource of 6.1 Mt @ 2.4 g/t gold for 466 koz, including underground of 1.2 Mt @ 4.4 g/t gold for 168 koz. Burbanks is underexplored and remains open in all directions for future growth.
Cannon Underground Project
The Cannon gold project is located 30 km east-southeast of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. It is a fully permitted project with a pre-feasibility study completed in 2022, which shows strong project economics with a free cash flow of AU$10.1 million over the mine's life. The company has finished commissioning a dewatering pipeline and a pumping system, representing a major milestone in the advancement of its Cannon Underground project. Discussions with mining contractors and potential JV mining partners are underway. First ore production from the Cannon Project is expected to commence in Q4 2024.
Penny’s Find
Penny’s Find is about 50 km northeast of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, near the company’s wholly-owned Kalpini gold project. It comprises a granted mining lease and other associated leases covering 91 hectares. The mineral resource estimate updated in December 2023 boasts 63,000 ounces of gold in the indicated and inferred category. A pre-feasibility study for exploitation using underground mining methods is currently underway. This study will include mine design and financial analysis.
Rose Hill
Rose Hill is 0.5 km southeast of Coolgardie and 35 km west of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, on the western edge of the Archean Norseman-Menzies Greenstone Belt. The current JORC 2012 resource at Rose Hill contains 93,300 oz , comprising an open-pit mineral resource of 0.3 Mt grading 2.0 g/t gold for 18,400 oz, and an underground mineral resource of 0.5 Mt grading 4.6 g/t gold for 74,900 oz. Nearly 70 percent of the resource is in the measured and indicated JORC categories.
Kalgoorlie Regional
Horizon owns several promising tenements within the Kalgoorlie region. These project areas include the greater Boorara-Cannon project area, Lakewood, Binduli-Teal project area, Kalpini, Balagundi-Kanowna South and Black Flag.
Coolgardie Regional
Horizon manages several promising tenements within the Coolgardie region, including Rose Hill, Brilliant North and Yarmany.
Management Team
Ashok Parekh – Non-executive Chairman
Ashok Parekh has over 33 years of experience advising mining companies and service providers in the mining industry. He has spent many years negotiating mining deals with publicly listed companies and prospectors, leading to new IPOs and the initiation of new gold mining operations. Additionally, he has been involved in managing gold mining and milling companies in the Kalgoorlie region, where he has served as managing director for some of these firms. Parekh is well-known in the West Australian mining industry and has a highly successful background in owning numerous businesses in the Goldfields. He was the executive chairman of ASX-listed A1 Consolidated Gold (ASX:AYC) from 2011 to 2014. He is a chartered accountant.
Warren Hallam - Non-executive Director
Warren Hallam is currently a non-executive director of St Barbara Limited and Poseidon Nickel Limited, and non-executive chairman of Kingfisher Mining Limited. Hallam has a built a strong track record over 35 years in operations, corporate and senior leadership roles across multiple commodities. This includes previous Managing Director roles at Metals X Limited, Millenium Metals Limited and Capricorn Metals Limited. Hallam is a metallurgist with a Master in Mineral Economics from Curtin University.
Grant Haywood – Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Grant Haywood brings over three decades of experience in both underground and open-cut mining operations. During his career, he has served in senior leadership capacities in various mining companies, guiding them from feasibility through to development and operations. His experience spans various roles within junior and multinational gold mining companies, predominantly in the Western Australian goldfields, including positions at Phoenix Gold, Saracen Mineral Holdings, and Gold Fields. He is a graduate of the Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) and has also earned a Masters in Mineral Economics from the same institution.
Julian Tambyrajah – Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary
Julian Tambyrajah is an accomplished global mining finance executive with more than 25 years of industry expertise. He is a certified public accountant and chartered company secretary. He has served as CFO of several listed companies including Central Petroleum (CTP), Crescent Gold (CRE), Rusina Mining NL, DRDGold, and Dome Resources NL. He has extensive experience in capital raising, some of which includes raising US$49 million for BMC UK, AU$122 million for Crescent Gold and AU$105 million for Central Petroleum.
Stephen Guy – Chief Geologist
Stephen Guy is a geologist with over 25 years of experience in the mining industry, specialising in exploration, production, and project start-ups for both open pit and underground operations. His career spans key regions in Australia, including Western Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland, where he has collaborated with leading companies such as BHP, Newcrest, St Barbara Gold, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), and Gindalbie Metals. Guy’s expertise covers a diverse range of commodities, including gold, copper, nickel, base metals, and iron ore.
Brendan Shalders - Chief Executive Officer (Poseidon)
Brendan Shalders is an experienced mining executive and has worked within or consulted with the mining and mining services industries for over 20 years. He is a chartered accountant and prior to joining Poseidon, he was managing director at FTI Consulting, a restructuring and corporate advisory services firm for nearly 3 years, where he assisted mining clients. Having held senior finance roles in both advisory and corporate settings, he has extensive experience in corporate finance, accounting, risk management, leadership and business development.
What Was the Highest Price for Gold?
While some have posited that the gold price may break US$3,000 per ounce and carry on as high as US$4,000 or US$5,000, there are those with hopes 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? In the past year, a new gold all time high (ATH) has been reached dozens of times, and we share the latest one and what has driven it to this level below. We also take a look at 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$2,954.72, its all-time high, on February 20, 2025. What drove it to set this new ATH?
Gold set a new record high on February 20 as US President Donald Trump continued tariff talks and seemingly sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Elon Musk's call to audit the gold holdings in Fort Knox has also brought attention to the yellow metal.
Gold has repeatedly broken new highs in recent weeks as uncertainty continues to reign under Trump. The week before, gold rose as Trump announced blanket 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Prior to that, the precious metal got a boost when Trump proposed that the US would resettle Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and then develop it into "the Riviera of the Middle East." The suggestion has been condemned globally.
Concerns over trading wars led to highs earlier that week, after Trump confirmed over the weekend he would enact extensive tariffs on North American allies Canada and Mexico beginning February 4. The two countries returned the favor, announcing retaliatory tariffs. On February 3, following talks with Mexico's and Canada's leaders, Trump agreed to delay the tariffs by one month.
The prior week, the gold price set new highs in all currencies alongside a weakening US dollar, the US Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged, a rush to safe haven assets and the looming threat of US President Donald Trump's tariffs on February 1. Additionally, new US economic data showed inflation-adjusted gross domestic product in the country increased an annualized 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 after rising 3.1 percent in the third quarter.
Gold has seen upward momentum in the last year on a variety of factors. In 2025, the gold price was on the rise early in the new year as President Trump and his team began to talk seriously about a wide-ranging set of tariffs on several countries in the run-up and following his inauguration on January 20.
Gold also reacted to a weaker-than-expected US private employment report on January 8, which showed that the economy added 122,000 jobs in the private sector in December, below the estimated 140,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest US jobs report on January 10, showing that nonfarm payrolls for December 2024 rose the most since March 2024, while unemployment fell to 4.1 percent.
On January 29, the Bank of Canada shaved 25 basis points off its policy interest rate, marking its sixth consecutive decrease, and announced plans to end quantitative tightening. On the same day, the US Federal Reserve opted to leave its interest rate unchanged. The following day, President Trump announced it very likely will be placing 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada as of February 1, alongside tariffs on the EU and China.
As for gold demand, on October 30 the World Gold Council reported that gold purchases from undocumented sources and gold ETF inflows were both drivers of demand growth in Q3 2024. On the other hand, central bank gold purchases were down during the quarter.
Read our in-depth breakdown of gold's recent price performance below.
2025 gold price chart
2025 gold price chart. December 31, 2024, to February 20, 2025.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
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.
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.
Five year gold price chart. February 19, 2020, to February 20, 2025.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
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 the third quarter. By October 4, gold had fallen to a low of US$1,820.01 and analysts expected the precious metal to be on the path to drop below the US$1,800 level.
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 rising expectations that the US Federal Reserve would begin to reverse course on interest rates, gold broke through the important psychological level of US$2,000 per ounce and closed at US$2,007.08 on October 27. As the Israel-Hamas fighting intensified, gold reached a then new high of US$2,152.30 during intraday trading on December 3.
That robust momentum in the spot gold price has 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 per ounce 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 per ounce on May 20.
Throughout the summer, the hits have just kept on coming. The global macro environment is highly bullish for gold in the lead up to the US election. Following the failed assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump and a statement about coming interest rate cuts by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the gold spot price hit a new all-time high on July 16 at US$2,469.30 per ounce.
One week later, news that President Joe Biden would not seek re-election and would instead pass the baton to his VP 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 per ounce on July 22.
However, the bullish factors supporting gold over the past year remain in play and the spot price for gold has gone on to breach the US$2,500 level first on August 2 on a less than stellar US jobs report before closing just above the US$2,440 level. A few weeks later, gold pushed past US$2,500 once again on August 16, to close 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 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 Friday, September 20, it moved above US$2,600 and held above US$2,620.
In October, gold breached the US$2,700 level and continued to set new highs 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 President 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 on the factors 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 that affect the gold price, 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 each year between 2018 and 2020 to around 3,000 to 3,100 metric tons 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 metric tons in 2022.
The World Gold Council has reported that central bank gold purchases in 2023 came to 1,037 metric tons, marking the second year in a row above 1,000 MT. In the first half of 2024, the organization says gold purchases from central banks reached a record 483 metric tons.
“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, said in an email to the Investing News Network (INN) at the beginning of Q4.
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.
Speaking at the Metals Investor Forum, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, this September, Eric Coffin, editor of Hard Rock Analyst, outlined those key factors as supporting his prediction that gold could reach US$2,800 by the end of 2024.
“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.
Also speaking at the Metals Investor Forum, Jeff Clark, founder and editor at TheGoldAdvisor.com, was even more bullish on the precious metal. He sees Santa delivering US$3,000 gold as a good possibility.
However, others see gold taking a little longer to breach the US$3,000 level. Delegates at the London Bullion Market Association's annual gathering in October have forecasted a gold price of US$2,941 in the next 12 months.
Randy Smallwood of Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM,NYSE:WPM) thinks US$3,000 could become a reality within a couple of years. He told INN in an October interview that he believes the west has finally caught the gold fever that has mainly been contained to the east for much of the year.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is predicting gold will hit US$2,900 in early 2025, as it expects to see an increase in gold ETF inflows, continued central bank buying and interest rate cuts, as well as further conflicts in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Alain Corbani, head of mining of Montbleu Finance and manager of the Global Gold and Precious Fund, told INN in an early January 2025 interview that his price target for the year is US$3,000 per ounce. He advises that the direction of interest rates in the US will be the most important factor to watch.
Should you beware of gold price manipulation?
As a final note on the price of gold and buying gold bullion, 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 (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 (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.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
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.
Gold Price Hits New Record, Breaking US$2,950 for First Time
Gold price chart, February 13 to 20, 2025.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
Gold has also made headlines this week on the back of calls for an audit of Fort Knox.
The Kansas-based army installation reportedly holds 4,580 metric tons of gold, but despite ongoing requests has not been fully audited since 1953. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has suggested that the newly established US Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE, should take on the task.
Long-term factors supporting gold include strong central bank demand and buying from eastern investors.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Aurum Resources
Investor Insights
Aurum Resources offers a compelling value proposition through its highly prospective gold asset in Côte d'Ivoire, a fast-emerging gold region in West Africa. Its cost-effective exploration strategy of drill rig ownership also distinguishes it from its peers.
Overview
Aurum Resources (ASX:AUE) is a mineral exploration company primarily focused on gold through its flagship Boundiali gold project located in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire's gold mining sector is experiencing significant growth and development, with several key projects contributing to the country's economic expansion. The overall gold mining sector in Côte d'Ivoire is supported by substantial investments in infrastructure and exploration.
Geopolitically, Côte d'Ivoire outperforms most developing countries in the world in political, legal, tax and operational risk metrics. Additionally, Côte d'Ivoire continues to make notable strides in its political stability and Absence of Violence and Terrorism Index.
Boundiali Gold Project – BD Target 1 Artisanal Working
Aurum has entered into a Bid Implementation Agreement with Mako Gold for Aurum to acquire 100 percent of the issued shares in Mako. This proposed merger will allow both Aurum and Mako security holders to benefit from the combination of Aurum’s strong balance sheet and exceptional drilling efficiencies with AU$23 million in cash at the end of December 2024 to support work programs targeted at further resource definition across Aurum and Mako’s assets in northern Côte d'Ivoire. Aurum is currently in its final phase of compulsory acquisition of remaining Mako shares after it received over 90% acceptance of MKG shares in late January 2025.
The merger is backed by a highly experienced board and management team with extensive gold experience from grassroots discovery, through to resource drill-out, feasibility studies, project finance, and production.
Company Highlights
- Aurum Resources is a precious metals company with exploration prospects in the same greenstone belt as the Syama (11.5 Moz), Sissingué (1.0 Moz), Tongon (5.0 Moz) and Kone Gold (4.5 Moz) deposits of West Africa.
- Aurum has announced a maiden independent JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 1.59 Moz gold for its 1,037sq. km Boundiali Gold Project.
- Aurum operates its own drill rigs, allowing the company to significantly reduce its exploration costs relative to peers.
- Management has a track record of creating value for shareholders from exploration through to project development, mine construction and gold production.
- Strong leverage to increasing gold prices that will benefit from a declining interest rate environment and rising global geopolitical risk factors.
- Well-funded for more than 12 months and over 100,000 metres of diamond drilling programs and metallurgical study
- Aurum’s acquisition of 100 percent of Mako Gold’s issued shares (ASX:MKG) is in its final stage of compulsory acquisition of the remaining MKG shares after Aurum received over 90 percent acceptance in late January 2025.
Key Project
Boundali Gold Project
The Boundiali gold project in Cote d’Ivoire is located within the Boundiali Greenstone Belt, which hosts Resolute’s Syama gold operation (11.5 Moz) and the Tabakoroni deposit (1 Moz) in Mali. Neighbouring assets also include Barrick’s Tongon mine (5 Moz) and Montage Gold’s Kone project (4.5 Moz).
The Boundiali project area covers the underexplored southern extension of the Boundiali belt, where a highly deformed synclinal greenstone horizon traverses finer-grained basin sediments, and to the west, Tarkwaian clastic rocks lie in contact with a granitic margin. The project benefits from year-round road access and excellent infrastructure.
The first stage of drilling at Boundiali occurred from late October 2023 to end of November 2024 for both the BM and BD tenements (BM1 and BM2; BD1, BD2 and BD3 targets) and was designed to test below-gold-in-soil anomalies oriented along NE trending structures, define new gold prospects and define maiden JORC resources. With over 63,000m diamond holes drilled during this period, Maiden JORC gold resources estimate was delivered in late December 2024.
Drilling costs are estimated at US$45 per metre, as Aurum owns all of its eight drilling rigs and employs its operators, representing a significant value proposition relative to peers who use commercial drilling companies that charge upwards of $200 per meter. The company believes there is potential for multi-million ounce gold resources to be defined with hundreds thousands meters of drilling over years within the Boundiali Gold Project’s land holding areas.
The Boundiali gold project comprises four contiguous granted licenses: PR0808 (80 percent interest), PR0893 (80 percent and earning to 88 percent interest), PR414 (100 percent interest), and PR283 (earning to 70 percent interest). Historic exploration at PR0893 includes 93 AC drill holes and four RC holes. Airborne geophysical surveying, geological mapping and extensive soil sampling have also been performed at PR0893, while PR0808 has had 91 RC holes drilled for 6,229 metres along with geochemical analysis and modeling. Detailed geochemical sampling and drilling at PR414 revealed three strong gold anomalies and returned impressive high-grade results.
Following the renewal of its Boundali South (BST) exploration licence in September 2024, drilling at the Nyangboue deposit is planned for H1 2025 and H2 2025. Previous exploration at BST has returned impressive results, including 20 m at 10.45 g/t gold from 38 meters, and 30 m at 8.30 g/t gold from 39 m.
In May 2024, Aurum entered a strategic partnership agreement to earn up to a 70 percent interest in exploration tenement PR283, to be renamed Boundiali North (BN). Aurum, through subsidiary Plusor Global Pty Ltd, has partnered with Ivorian company Geb & Nut Resources Sarl and related party (GNRR) to explore and develop the Boundiali North (BN) tenement which covers 208.87sq km immediately north of Aurum’s BD tenement. Further to this agreement,
Aurum announced it has earned 80 percent project interest after completing more than 20,000 m of diamond core drilling.
Boundiali Project JORC Mineral Resource Estimate
Aurum has announced a maiden independent JORC mineral resource estimate of 1.59 Moz gold for its 1,037 sq. km. The Boundiali Gold Project comprises the BST, BDT1 & BDT2, BMT1 and BMT3 deposits. Drilling is ongoing on these deposits, and Aurum has identified other prospects at Boundiali which have yet to be drilled. Since October 2023, the company has completed an extensive 63,927-metre diamond drilling program. This aggressive exploration campaign has rapidly defined a significant gold resource of 50.9 Mt @ 1.0 g/t gold for 1.6 million ounces.
A 100,000 m of drilling is planned and being carried out at Boundiali using eight self-owned diamond rigs to drive resource growth with two JORC resources updates in 2025.
In 2025, Aurum plans to launch a mining exploitation licence application and complete a PFS and environment study for the Boundiali Gold Project.
Management Team
Troy Flannery – Non-Executive Chairman
Troy Flannery has more than 25 years’ experience in the mining industry, including nine years in corporate and 17 years in senior mining engineering and project development roles. He has a degree in mining engineering, masters in finance, and first class mine managers certificate of competency. Flannery has performed non-executive director roles with numerous ASX listed companies and was the CEO of Abra Mining until October 2021. He has worked at numerous mining companies, mining consultancy and contractors, including BHP, Newcrest, Xstrata, St Barbara Mines and AMC Consultants.
Dr. Caigen Wang – Managing Director
Dr. Caigen Wang founded Tietto Minerals (ASX:TIE), where he led the company as managing director for 13 years through private exploration, ASX listing, gold resource definition, project study and mine building to become one of Africa’s newest gold producers at its Abujar gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a bachelor, masters and PhD in mining engineering. He is a fellow of AusIMM and a chartered professional engineer of Institution of Engineer, Australia. Wang has 13 years of mining academic experience in China University of Mining and Technology, Western Australia School of Mine and University of Alberta, and over 20 years of practical experience in mining engineering and mineral exploration in Australia, China and Africa. Other professional experience includes senior technical and management roles in mining houses, including St. Barbara, Sons of Gwalia, BHP Billiton, China Goldmines PLC and others.
Mark Strizek – Executive Director
Mark Strizek has nearly 30 years’ experience in the resource industry, having worked as a geologist on various gold, base metal and technology metal projects. He brings invaluable geological, technical and development expertise to Aurum, most recently as an executive director at Tietto Minerals’, which progressed from an IPO to gold production at the Abujar gold project in West Africa. Strizek has worked as an executive with management and board responsibilities in exploration, feasibility, finance and development-ready assets across Australia, West Africa, Asia and Europe.
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