gold IS THE ORIGINAL AND BEST STORE OF VALUE

Considering the gold price

The long-term investment case for gold is not complex: the precious metal is the real asset safe haven of choice during times of inflationary or geopolitical stress. Indeed, I assign circa 5-10% of my net wealth to physical gold at all times, and most investors in my circle use the metal similarly, as an insurance policy.

Spot gold is trading around the $2,300 area, close to its record high. There are tons of tailwinds that should see the metal remain elevated:

• Huge geopolitical instability — Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Hamas, China/US/Taiwan.
• Inflation — which is not defeated. Oil prices are rising again and European gas prices are at a seven-month high.
• Central Bank activity — states are starting to pause rate rises, making gold relatively more attractive. They also like to print money like no tomorrow.
• Monetary activity — central banks are buying gold at a record pace. For context, they added a whopping 1,136 tonnes of gold worth some $70 billion to their stockpiles in 2022, by far the most of any year in records going back to 1950, according to the World Gold Council.
• Debt — Public and private sector debt is unmanageable. This will haunt the west, but gold will keep its value in any event.
• Supply issues — there are fewer gold operations coming online and the ones that are, are coming online at a lower grade than historically. This is partially due to political issues in South America, but also due to generic permitting and financing problems.

The bottom line for gold is that it will likely command higher prices than historically as geopolitical uncertainty continues to rage.

When it comes to gold, there are few companies that really catch our eye; Amaroq Minerals in Greenland and Greatland Gold's Havieron are perhaps the two with most long-term promise.

Notably, both companies already boast sizeable market capitalisations. And with Amaroq already going it alone, Greatland may be about to buy out the remaining 70% of Havieron and Telfer from Newmont which has announced it wishes to relinquish the assets.

KEFI is also one to watch, though has been promising jam tomorrow since the dawn of time.