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06 February
Sarama Resources
Investor Insight
Sarama Resources offers a compelling investment opportunity fueled by a multi-million dollar, fully-funded arbitration claim and two new gold projects encompassing 1,000 sq km of the Cosmo Newbery and Mt Venn Greenstone Belts in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.
Overview
Sarama Resources (TSXV:SWA,ASX:SRR) is a gold-focused Australian mineral exploration and development company. Sarama has two core components to its business, one being a significant and fully funded arbitration claim, and the other being two highly prospective gold projects totaling 1,000 sq km in area in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Individually, each component significantly derisks the company and together they present significant value and upside optionality for investors.
Sarama recently acquired the Cosmo and the Mt Venn gold projects which cover 580 sq km and 420 sq km, respectively, and encompass most of the greenstone belts in which they are situated. These greenstone belts are located in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, and both have historical gold workings and strong geological and structural similarities to the adjacent Dorothy Hills greenstone belt which hosts the +8 Moz Gruyere gold deposit.
The Cosmo and Mt Venn gold projects offer a unique and promising opportunity for exploration in a region known for its prolific gold endowment.
The company is also pursuing a significant arbitration claim which is fully funded through a non-recourse loan facility. Boies Schiller Flexner who have an excellent track record of securing large settlements has been appointed to assist with the claim. The damages being sought are not less than cAU$200 million plus interest, and have the potential to be significantly more.
Sarama is led by an experienced board and management team with more than 30 years of individual experience and a proven track record of discovery and development of large-scale gold deposits including the +25 Moz world-class Kibali Gold Mine (formerly Moto Gold), and the +3 million ounce Sanutura gold project.
Company Highlights
- Sarama has two core components to its business - a fully funded arbitration claim and a new and highly prospective gold project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.
- Sarama’s Cosmo Gold project covers 580 sq km and encompasses most of the highly prospective Cosmo Newbery Greenstone Belt in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.
- Sarama has acquired 80 percent interest in the Mt Venn gold project, which is 40 km east of the Cosmo Newbery Project, less than 40 km from the +8 Moz Gruyere gold mine and covers 420 sq km of the highly prospective Mt Venn Greenstone Belt.
- The company’s significant arbitration claim in Burkina Faso is fully funded through a non-recourse loan facility, seeking no less than AU$180 million in damages.
- The company is led by an experienced management team and board with more than 30 years of individual experience and a proven track record of discovery and development.
Key Projects
Cosmo Newbery Gold Project
The Cosmo Gold project is an underexplored, belt-scale gold asset in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields. The project spans 580 sq km covering the entirety of the Cosmo-Newbery Greenstone Belt, a large and prospective system with gold first being discovered in the area in the 1890s and where rock chip sampling has returned grades up to 52 g/t gold. Cosmo Gold comprises seven contiguous exploration tenements and is located approximately 85 km northeast of Laverton in a region known for its prolific gold endowment.
Project Highlights
- Promising Geology: Whole greenstone belt with good structural setting in a prolific gold-producing region
- Scale: Tenure is contiguous over 583 sq km and covers the entire +50 km of greenstone belt
- Old workings: Gold was discovered in the 1890s highlighting its potential, but the area has remained unexplored for decades
- Limited exploration: The belt has seen virtually no modern exploration and no drilling of merit
- Location: Situated 95 km west of +8 Moz Gruyere gold mine (Gold Road) and 85 km from Laverton which sits in a greenstone belt hosting over 35 Moz of gold
Mt Venn Project
The Mt Venn Gold project has many similarities to the nearby Cosmo gold project and the company views it as an underexplored, belt-scale gold asset. The project spans 420 sq km and covers a large portion of the Mt Venn Greenstone Belt, a large and prospective system with gold first being discovered in the area in the 1890s. Limited drilling has returned multiple intersections of merit, and the project has a 35km long gold corridor marked by semi-contiguous gold-in-soil anomalism, old workings and drill intercepts. Mt Venn comprises three contiguous exploration tenements and is located approximately 35 km west of Gold Road’s 8 Moz, +300,000 oz/yr Gruyere gold mine and 40 km east of the company’s Cosmo gold project.
Project Highlights
- Promising Geology: Project covers a significant part of the Mt Venn greenstone belt, it has a good lithological and structural setting, including a regional shear zone approximately 50 km long and 1 to 3 km wide, extending full length of the greenstone belt.
- Scale: Tenure is contiguous over 420 sq km and covers a large portion of greenstone belt
- Old workings: Gold was discovered in the 1890s highlighting its potential, but the area has remained unexplored for decades
- Limited exploration: A lot of exploration potential remains in the belt with historical exploration work delineating a 35km anomalous gold trend coincident with a major regional structure and favorable lithologies
- Gold intercepts in drilling at Three Bears Prospect on Mt Venn project extend over 4 km trend to maximum 8.5 g/t gold
- Location: Situated 40 km west of Gold Road’s 8 Moz, +300,000 oz/yr Gruyere gold mine, 20 km west of Gold Road’s 1 Moz Golden Highway deposit and 40 km east of the company’s Cosmo gold project
Management Team
Andrew Dinning – Executive Chairman
Andrew Dinning is a founder, managing director and CEO of Sarama Resources. Dinning is committed to development in Africa and recently retired as a board member of The Australia-Africa Minerals and Energy Group (AAMEG) after eight years of service. AAMEG is a peak body representing Australian companies engaged in the development of Africa's resource industry.
Dinning has over 35 years of experience in the international mining arena and has worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, West Africa, the UK, Russia and Australia. 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 20 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 25 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 Goldmine, 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 Gold Fields 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. Simon is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 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 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 25 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 several countries. He has also held several 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.
Byass 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).
Byass is currently on the board of multiple ASX-listed companies, including Galena Mining, Kaiser Reef, Kingwest Resources and Infinity Lithium.
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.
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19h
John Feneck: Gold Landscape Never Better, Plus 9 Stocks on My Radar Now
John Feneck, portfolio manager and consultant at Feneck Consulting, shares his updated outlook for gold, saying that the yellow metal still has space to run.
He also discusses nine gold and "special situations" companies that are on his radar.
Watch the interview for more, or click here for the Investing News Network's Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention playlist on YouTube.
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.
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19h
Brian Leni: Latest Mining Stock Wins and How I'm Deploying Cash Now
Brian Leni, founder of Junior Stock Review, runs through his investment strategy, saying he's looking for stocks with an "X factor" that's being overlooked.
Watch the interview above for more of this thoughts.
You can also click here to view the Investing News Network's Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention playlist on YouTube.
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.
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11 March
Willem Middelkoop: Gold to Benefit as Chaos Rises, Silver's Path to US$100
Willem Middelkoop, founder of Commodity Discovery Fund, shared his thoughts on the commodities space, saying that an "era of shortages" is arriving.
He believes that will propel prices up from today's rock-bottom levels, creating investment opportunities.
Middelkoop also discussed geopolitics, looking at recent moves from the Trump administration.
Click here to view the Investing News Network's Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention playlist on YouTube.
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.
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11 March
Chen Lin: Gold, Silver, Critical Minerals — Where I'm Investing in 2025
Chen Lin of Lin Asset Management told the Investing News Network where he's investing in 2025, mentioning gold, silver and critical minerals.
In his view, the mining industry is returning to exciting times after a long bear market.
Watch the interview above for more from Lin on those topics.
You can also click here to view the Investing News Network's Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention playlist on YouTube.
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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11 March
Will Trump Bring Back the Gold Standard?
The gold standard hasn’t been used in the US since the 1970s, but during Donald Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021 there was some speculation that he could bring it back.
Rumors that the gold standard could be reinstated during Trump’s presidency centered largely on positive comments he made about the idea. Notably, he suggested that it would be “wonderful” to bring back the gold standard, and a number of his advisors were of the same mind — Judy Shelton, John Allison and others supported the concept.
Now that Trump is back in the White House, some are again wondering if he will return the country to the gold standard. Speaking on his War Room podcast back in December 2023, Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, said he believes the president could ditch the US Federal Reserve and bring back the gold standard in his second term in office.
More recently, the Heritage Foundation included a whole chapter on the Federal Reserve in its Project 2025 (a proposed blueprint for Trump's second term), and mentioned the option of eliminating the Federal Reserve to make way for a return to the gold standard.
While Trump has publicly disavowed Project 2025, its creators say he is privately supportive of the initiative, and he has implemented many of their suggestions. Additionally, the chapter's author, Paul Winfree, is a former member of Trump's 2016 transition team and 2017 administration.
Since re-entering office, Trump has also shown interest in the physical gold stored in Fort Knox, Kentucky. The president and Elon Musk have repeatedly questioned whether some of the gold may have been stolen, and Musk has suggested an audit of the 147 million ounces of gold stored in the vault. It remains to be seen whether the audit will take place, but it has added an extra unknown to the gold space.
Read on to learn what the gold standard is, why it ended, what Trump has said about bringing back the gold standard — and what could happen if a gold-backed currency ever comes into play again.
In this article
- What is the gold standard?
- When was the gold standard introduced?
- What countries are on the gold standard today?
- Why was the gold standard abandoned?
- What is the US dollar backed by?
- What has Trump said about the gold standard?
- What does Project 2025 say about the gold standard?
- Would it be feasible for the US to return to the gold standard?
- Is there enough gold to return to the gold standard?
- What would happen if the US returned to the gold standard?
What is the gold standard?
What is the gold standard and how does it work? Put simply, the gold standard is a monetary system in which the value of a country’s currency is directly linked to the yellow metal. Countries using the gold standard set a fixed price at which to buy and sell gold to determine the value of the nation’s currency.
For example, if the US went back to the gold standard and set the price of gold at US$1,000 per ounce, the value of the dollar would be 1/1000th of an ounce of gold. This would offer reliable price stability.
Under the gold standard, transactions no longer have to be done with heavy gold bullion or gold coins. The gold standard also increases the trust needed for successful global trade — the idea is that paper currency has value that is tied to something real. The goal is to prevent inflation as well as deflation, and to help promote a stable monetary environment.
When was the gold standard introduced?
The gold standard was first introduced in Germany in 1871, and by 1900 most developed nations, including the US, were using it. The system remained popular for decades, with governments worldwide working together to make it successful, but when World War I broke out it became difficult to maintain. Changing political alliances, higher debt and other factors led to a widespread lack of confidence in the gold standard.
What countries are on the gold standard today?
Currently, no countries use the gold standard. Decades ago, governments abandoned the gold standard in favor of fiat monetary systems. However, countries around the world do still hold gold reserves in their central banks. The Fed is the central bank of the US, and as of February 2025 its gold reserves came to 8,133.46 metric tons.
Why was the gold standard abandoned?
The demise of the gold standard began as World War II was ending. At this time, the leading western powers met to develop the Bretton Woods agreement, which became the framework for the global currency markets until 1971.
The Bretton Woods agreement was born at the UN Monetary and Financial Conference, held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944. Currencies were pegged to the price of gold, and the US dollar was seen as a reserve currency linked to the price of gold. This meant all national currencies were valued in relation to the US dollar since it had become the dominant reserve currency. Despite efforts from governments at the time, the Bretton Woods agreement led to overvaluation of the US dollar, which caused concerns over exchange rates and their ties to the price of gold.
By 1971, US President Richard Nixon had called for a temporary suspension of the dollar’s convertibility. Countries were then free to choose any exchange agreement, except the price of gold. In 1973, foreign governments let currencies float; this put an end to Bretton Woods, and the gold standard was ousted.
What is the US dollar backed by?
Since the 1970s, most countries have run on a system of fiat money, which is government-issued money that is not backed by a commodity. The US dollar is fiat money, which means it is backed by the government, but not by any physical asset.
The value of money is set by supply and demand for paper money, as well as supply and demand for other goods and services in the economy. The prices for those goods and services, including gold and silver, can fluctuate based on market conditions.
What has Trump said about the gold standard?
While it’s perhaps not common knowledge, Trump has long been a fan of gold.
In fact, as Sean Williams of the Motley Fool has pointed out, Trump has been interested in gold since at least the 1970s, when private ownership of gold bullion became legal again. He reportedly invested in gold aggressively at that time, buying the precious metal at about US$185 and selling it between US$780 and US$790.
Since then, Trump has specifically praised the gold standard. In an oft-quoted 2015 GQ interview that covers topics from marijuana to man buns, Trump said, “Bringing back the gold standard would be very hard to do, but boy, would it be wonderful. We’d have a standard on which to base our money.”
In a separate interview that year, he said, “We used to have a very, very solid country because it was based on a gold standard.”
According to Politico’s Danny Vinik, “(Trump has) surrounded himself with a number of advisors who hold extreme, even fringe ideas about monetary policy. … At least six … have spoken favorably about the gold standard.” Shelton and Allison, mentioned above, are not alone. Others include Ben Carson and David Malpass. The last two, Rebekah and Robert Mercer, eventually distanced themselves from Trump, but had a strong influence before that.
Emphasizing how unusual Trump’s support for the international gold standard is, Joseph Gagnon, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told the news outlet, “(It) seems like nothing that’s happened since the Great Depression.” Gagnon, who has also worked for the Fed, added, “You have to go back to Herbert Hoover.”
Back in 2017, Politico also quoted libertarian Ron Paul, another gold standard supporter, as saying, “We’re in a better position than we’ve ever been in my lifetime as far as talking about serious changes to the monetary system and talking about gold.”
What does Project 2025 say about the gold standard?
In its chapter on the Federal Reserve, Project 2025 discusses the pros and cons of a return to the gold standard or other commodity-backed monetary system. The chapter's author, Paul Winfree, weighs several monetary reform options, listing the gold standard as the second most effective option "against inflation and boom-and-bust recessionary cycles."
Project 2025 aims to severely reduce the current powers of the Federal Reserve, including its ability to purchase federal debt and other financial assets as well as bail out big financial institutions. Winfree also proposes removing maximizing employment from the Fed’s mandate.
The document offers several paths to a potential gold standard, including gold-convertible treasury instruments or a parallel fiat dollar and gold standard system to make a transition easier. However, Winfree writes, "We have good reasons to worry that central banks and the gold standard are fundamentally incompatible—as the disastrous experience of the Western nations on their 'managed gold standards' between World War I and World War II showed."
On the more extreme end, the policy playbook also explores dismantling the Federal Reserve in favor of the gold standard alone. In the view of Project 2025, this would reduce the risk of inflation because there would be no central bank to print money and bail-out the banks. On the other hand, Winfree states that the two-year election system means they should be cautious about causing too much disruption to financial markets and the economy.
While the Trump Administration 2.0 has yet to implement any of the Project 2025 recommendations on the Federal Reserve discussed above, the president did sign an Executive Order in mid-February that would give the Executive Branch oversight and control of regulatory agencies like the Fed. However, the order does provide an exemption for the central bank’s ability to set interest rates.
Would it be feasible for the US to return to the gold standard?
Trump’s first term as president passed without a return to the gold standard, and the consensus seems to be that it’s highly unlikely that this event will come to pass — even with him at the helm once again.
Even many ardent supporters of the system recognize that going back to it could create trouble.
As per the Motley Fool’s Williams, economists largely agree that moving to a lower-key version of the gold standard in 1933 was “a big reason why the US emerged from the Great Depression,” and a return would be a mistake.
This is the take of Kevin Bahr, chief analyst of the Center for Business and Economic Insight. "History has shown that the gold standard was highly ineffective in dealing with inflation and economic downturns. Although the gold standard can limit the printing of money which could cause inflation, the printing of money is not always the reason that inflation occurs," explains Bahr. "Inflationary pressures caused by World War I resulted from supply shortages and the ramp-up in demand for certain products and resources caused by the war effort. Simply having a fixed money supply tied to gold didn’t solve the problems; consequently, countries bailed from the gold standard to gain more control over monetary policy and inflationary pressures."
Bahr also states that the gold standard would not have prevented the most recent bout of inflation that followed the global COVID pandemic. Quite the opposite, in fact. "Rather, the lack of a gold standard helped countries deal with the effects of inflation. The gold standard could have exacerbated the inflationary problem by preventing any central bank actions," he wrote.
But if Trump or a future president did decide to go through with it, what would it take?
According to Kimberly Amadeo at the Balance, due to trade, money supply and the global economy, the rest of the world would need to go back to the gold standard as well. Why? Because otherwise the countries that use the US dollar could stand with their hands out asking for their dollars to be exchanged for gold — including debtors like China and Japan, to which the US owes a large chunk of its multitrillion-dollar national debt.
Is there enough gold to return to the gold standard?
The fact that the US doesn’t have enough gold in its reserves to pay back all its debt poses a huge roadblock to returning to the gold standard. The country would have to exponentially replenish its gold reserves in advance of any return to the gold standard.
"The United States holds around 261.5 million troy ounces of gold, valued at approximately $489 billion. The total US money supply exceeds $20 trillion, necessitating about 272,430 metric tons of gold at current market prices," explained Ron Dewitt, Director of Business Development at the Gold Information Network, in a June 2024 LinkedIn post.
"The supply remains insufficient, even including global gold stocks, which total around 212,582 metric tons."
In addition, it's understood that returning to the gold standard would require the price of gold to be set much higher than it is currently. What would the price of gold need to be worth if the US returned to the gold standard? Financial analyst and investment banker Jim Rickards has calculated the gold price would need to jump up to at least US$27,000 an ounce.
That means the US dollar would be severely devalued, causing inflation, and since global trade uses the US dollar as a reserve currency, it would grind to a halt. Conversely, returning to the gold standard at a low gold price would cause deflation.
What would silver be worth if the US returned to the gold standard? It's not a guarantee that silver would follow in gold's footsteps if a gold standard was re-established due to its many industrial and technological applications. While silver has a long history as a precious metal and played an important role as currency for much of human history, its value today is intrinsically linked to that demand as well.
What would happen if the US returned to the gold standard?
Returning to the gold standard would have a huge impact on all levels of the US economy and make it impossible for the Fed to offer fiscal stimulus. After all, if the US had to have enough gold reserves to exchange for dollars on an as-needed basis, the Fed’s ability to print paper currency would be incredibly limited.
Supporters believe that could be the perfect way to get the US out of debt, but it could also cause problems during times of economic crisis. It’s important to remember that because 70 percent of the US economy is based on consumer spending, if inflation rose due to the gold price rising, then a lot of consumers would cut spending.
That would then affect the stock market as well, which could very well lead to a recession or worse without the ability of the government to soften that blow via money supply. "Transitioning to a gold standard during an economic crisis would severely limit monetary policy options and could lead to economic instability," Dewitt warned.
For that reason, a return to the gold standard would also expose the US economy to the yellow metal’s sometimes dramatic fluctuations — while some think that gold would offer greater price stability, it’s no secret that it’s been volatile in the past. Looking back past the metal’s recent stability, it dropped quite steeply from 2011 to 2016.
Moreover, speaking to Congress on this issue in 2019, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned against a return to the gold standard.
“You’ve assigned us the job of two direct, real economy objectives: maximum employment, stable prices. If you assigned us (to) stabilize the dollar price of gold, monetary policy could do that, but the other things would fluctuate, and we wouldn’t care,” Powell said. “There have been plenty of times in fairly recent history where the price of gold has sent a signal that would be quite negative for either of those goals.”
As can be seen, returning to the gold standard would be a complex ordeal with pros and cons. The likelihood of the US bringing back the gold standard is slim, but no doubt the question will continue to be up for debate under future presidents.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2017.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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11 March
The Mar-a-Lago Accord: What it is and What it Means for the Dollar, Global Trade and Gold
US President Donald Trump’s economic policies and vision for trade have reignited speculation about a potential multinational deal aimed at addressing what some view as a persistently overvalued dollar.
Although no formal agreement has been announced, analysts have coined the term “Mar-a-Lago Accord” to describe a possible effort to rebalance global currency markets, borrowing from the 1985 Plaza Accord.
Origins of the Mar-a-Lago Accord
The phrase has gained traction following the release of a November 2024 paper written by Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee for the White House Council of Economic Advisers. In it, Miran proposes several strategies to reform global trade and counteract the economic imbalances caused by what he calls an excessively strong dollar.
Similarly, prior to assuming his position as secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent suggested in June 2024 that a “grand economic reordering” could take place in the coming years.
While details remain speculative, the general premise behind the Mar-a-Lago Accord revolves around Trump’s commitment to boosting American manufacturing and exports. The challenge lies in the dollar’s current strength, which makes US goods less competitive abroad. With the US trade deficit reaching a record US$1.2 trillion in 2024, some economists argue that a weaker dollar could help bridge the gap by making American exports more attractive.
The idea of a coordinated effort to weaken the dollar is not new.
In 1985, the US and key trading partners — including Japan, France, the UK and West Germany — agreed to the Plaza Accord, a deal aimed at curbing the dollar’s strength. At the time, US manufacturers were struggling against Japan’s export dominance, much like today’s concerns regarding China.
The Plaza Accord succeeded in lowering the dollar’s value, but it also had unintended consequences, such as Japan’s economic stagnation in the 1990s.
Potential mechanisms of a Mar-a-Lago Accord
If such an agreement were to take shape, it could involve several key components.
Trade and tariff adjustments could be central, as Trump has floated the idea of replacing the Internal Revenue Service with an “External Revenue Service” that collects funds from foreign countries.
This indicates a shift toward economic policies that could pressure trading partners into compliance.
Currency interventions might also play a role, with governments potentially agreeing to coordinated efforts in foreign exchange markets to adjust currency values. However, given today’s massive US$7.5 trillion daily foreign exchange trading volume, direct interventions might be less effective than they were in the 1980s.
Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management, told the Investing News Network that the ideas that make up the Mar-a-Lago Accord form a “loose collection of disparate policies” rather than a cohesive plan.
However, he cautioned against dismissing them outright. “Jim Bianco said you don’t need to take all of this literally, but you need to take it very seriously,” he commented. Day also emphasized in the converation that Trump often starts negotiations with extreme positions before settling on more moderate policies.
A significant aspect of this discussion revolves around security. The US has long subsidized defense for Europe and other allies, and Trump has suggested that foreign governments should bear a larger financial burden.
Debt restructuring is another controversial idea related to the Mar-a-Lago Accord.
“One of the more extreme proposals, frankly, is that the US will require foreign governments who hold treasuries to exchange those treasuries for 100 year non-tradable zero coupons,” Day noted, adding that the proposal would tie these exchanges to security commitments, using military presence as leverage. “Carrot and stick — we’ll keep the Seventh Fleet in the Red Sea if you exchange your treasuries, but if you don’t, you’re on your own.”
A weaker dollar could lead to higher inflation by increasing the cost of imports. Investors who traditionally see US assets as a safe haven might also shift capital toward alternative currencies such as the euro or yen.
Furthermore, any attempt to force trading partners into an unfavorable debt swap could disrupt the US$29 trillion treasury market, a cornerstone of global finance.
What does the Mar-a-Lago Accord mean for gold?
One of the most consistent takeaways from Mar-a-Lago Accord discussions is its bullish implications for gold.
A weaker dollar historically drives demand for gold as a store of value, and uncertainty surrounding US debt policies could further boost the metal’s appeal. “Every single one of these proposals is gold bullish,” Day remarked.
An additional subject of speculation is the idea that the administration could make use of the country’s gold stockpile. At current market prices, the gold held in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and other locations would be worth about US$758 billion, but it is valued at only US$11 billion on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet due to a 1973 law that set its price.
Trump and Elon Musk have both expressed interest in verifying Fort Knox's gold reserves, fueling speculation.
Meanwhile, Bessent has discussed the potential of monetizing “the asset side of the US balance sheet for the American people,” though he has clarified that a gold revaluation is not what he had in mind.
Analysts speculate that any push to devalue the dollar while restructuring US obligations could set off a chain reaction in commodities markets, further amplifying gold’s importance.
If foreign investors perceive US economic policies as a shift away from traditional fiscal discipline, they may increase their allocations to gold as a hedge against potential volatility in treasury markets.
While the Mar-a-Lago Accord remains more of a concept than a concrete policy, its potential implications are vast.
The coming months will reveal whether the Trump administration will formally pursue these strategies or if they will remain theoretical discussions among economists and strategists.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, 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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