VIDEO - Ross Beaty: Case for Gold Strong as Ever, Price Should be Higher

After a lackluster summer and a price decline below the US$1,800 per ounce level last week, more investors are beginning to feel frustrated with gold’s performance.

Mining industry veteran Ross Beaty, who is chairman of Equinox Gold (TSX:EQX,NYSEAMERICAN:EQX), remains as bullish as ever on the yellow metal, but said he’s surprised its price isn’t higher.

“I’m among the disappointed ones — I’m surprised gold’s not over US$2,000 right now,” he told the Investing News Network. “I don’t know what it should be at, but I think it should be higher than it is.”

Beaty pointed to higher inflation as a positive factor for gold, and said that strength in the US dollar and major indices can’t continue forever — when cracks emerge in those areas, the yellow metal will benefit.

“This time everything is different than it was 10 years ago, when we had the tapering and the so-called ‘taper tantrum’ that affected gold prices,” he explained in the interview. “That’s not happening this year. There’s so much more debt, there’s so much more money being printed, there’s so much more fear and concern about inflation, (and) that never was the case 10 years ago.”

Beaty added, “I just think everything today is arguably as strong as ever for gold to continue to go higher. It’s not going to change dramatically, and if it does, it will only be for a short while.”

He also spent time speaking about progress at Equinox Gold, which most recently shared a positive prefeasibility study for an expansion at its Aurizona gold mine in Brazil.

According to Beaty, the company’s production is expected to come in at 600,000 ounces this year, with that amount rising 1.2 million ounces in a few years. He emphasized that scaling up quickly has been a major focus for Equinox Gold, which was formed just three and a half years ago, and said that being larger leads to a slew of benefits, such as access to bigger investors and inclusion on key indices.

But now Equinox Gold’s focus is shifting from making acquisitions to execution. “We are absolutely not doing anything more for awhile while we execute on what is right in front of us,” said Beaty. “The most important thing right now is execution on our existing assets, and that’s what we’re doing today.”

Watch the interview above for more from Beaty on the gold market and Equinox Gold.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, 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.