Certainly, the time for gold has arrived, and those of us who’ve ignored it for decades need to pay attention as there are profits to be made.
Back in the early 1980s, gold was all the rage. The US had abandoned the gold standard and it was on the move from under $100/oz in the early 1970s to hitting $682 in September 1980.
Our local exchange was having a great time with literally dozens of listed gold mines that were suddenly printing money. This fever lasted for at least a couple of years, even as the gold price started to slip, with gold closing the 1980s at around $400/oz. Even at that price mines still made great profits, thanks in part to their fixed cost base.
Back then most listed gold mines were single shaft affairs, not the large conglomerates we see today. The plan was to mine the shaft at a profit, pay chunky dividends and then close when the costs were higher than the price; and with the boom in the price, mines could mine for longer.
Esta historia es de la edición 30 July 2020 de Finweek English.
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