Energy & Mining International - Spring 2011 - (Page 16)

+ N E W S | DEPARTMENT AND FEATURES Spring 2011 Gold Makes a Comeback BY BRIAN SALGADO Making a Comeback _____ The World Gold Council announced gold demand for 2010 reached a 10year high, with annual demand of 3,812.2 tonnes worth approximately $150 billion (USD). On Nov. 9, the council said this demand set a record gold price of $1,421 (USD) an ounce on the London PM ﬁx. “As anticipated, 2010 was a great year for gold with demand strong across all sectors,” Marcus Grubb, managing director, investment at the World Gold Council, said in a statement. “The opening weeks of this year have been characterized by an East/West divide. The dip in the gold price in January resulted in a reduction of ETF tonnage and a decline in the net speculative long position on COMEX. This has been counterbalanced by very substantial physical demand ﬂows in Asian markets.” The council cites numerous factors that led to this renaissance. For instance, the council says the jewelry industry recovered in 2010, with annual demand increasing by 17 percent from 2009. Consumers in China and India, speciﬁcally, drove this growth, and the council expects China to remain strong with India to trend upward. Also, a structural shift in central bank policy toward gold meant that in 2010, central banks became net buyers of gold for the ﬁrst time in 21 years. This removed a signiﬁcant source of supply to the market, the council says. “Emerging country banks are likely to continue purchasing gold as a means of preserving national wealth and promoting greater ﬁnancial market stability,” George Milling-Stanley, managing director, government affairs at the World Gold Council, said in a statement. “Any gold sales from advanced economies are unlikely to be signiﬁcant as the official sector remains highly risk-averse. Collectively, the official sector is still a signiﬁcant holder of gold. Central banks remain committed to its importance and relevance in maintaining stability and conﬁdence as they have been for hundreds of years.” And while investment demand was down 2 percent compared to 2009, it was still the second-highest year on record at 1,333 tonnes, which equates to $52 billion (USD). The council expects investment demand for gold as a foundation asset in portfolios to remain strong, fueled by ongoing uncertainty surrounding global economic recovery and fiscal imbalances. + 16 emi-magazine.com http://www.emi-magazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Energy & Mining International - Spring 2011

Energy & Mining International - Spring 2011
Contents
Clean Fuel
Satellites Are Key
Good Vibrations
News
Latin America Focus
Minera Andres
Ventana Gold Corp.
Zincore Metals
AQM Copper Inc.
Canada Focus
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp.
Aurizon Mines
JV Driver
Alderon Resource Corp.
Detour Gold Corp.
Prairie Machine & Parts
Pumps & Pressure Inc.
Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp.
Explor Resources Inc.
Trelawney Mining and Exploration Inc.
Advantage Valve Maintenance Ltd.
Silverman Oilfield Services
Rhino Resource Partners LP – Hopedale Mining LLC
Kimble Cos. Inc.
McVay Drilling Co.
MaXfield Inc.
Ellicott Dredges
Scientific Drilling
Becker/SMC Corp.
GasSearch Drilling Services
Crossrock Inc.
Frontier Services Inc.
Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc.
Summit Midstream Partners
Black Hills Bentonite LLC
Energy Companies
The Final Shot

Energy & Mining International - Spring 2011