Monday, June 6, 2016

Toni Aubynn cautions miners



Mining firms have been asked manage the excitement from a rebound in the price of gold on the world market, as the commodity is now trading at around US$1,275 an ounce -- representing one of the highest rates in recent times.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission Dr. Toni Aubynn said players are better-off pegging their expected revenues at the lower level.

He indicated that the industry is excited about the increase in price of the commodity: “But we are very careful not to have a party yet. We have seen the volatility in the price of the commodity over the past years, so we don’t want to go partying because the price has been seen inching up to 1,300 dollars an ounce”.

The price of gold increased to as high as almost US$1,900 in 2012/13 -- bringing a lot of excitement among operators. A sharp decline however followed, which saw the price drop to as low as US$1,000 an ounce…bringing many mining firms to their knees.

This, Dr. Aubynn said, should be avoided. He is therefore asking players to forecast their benefits based on a projection of about US$1,000, in order to derive the maximum benefits if the price increases further.

The Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr. Sulemanu Koney, is optimistic that the rebound in price of the commodity will continue; saying that figures on the ground show the price will increase much higher than it is currently. 

“As a Chamber we expect the price to go much higher than it is, but I’m happy about the current development because it is better than where it was last year. 

“Once it gets to a much higher price, everyone will be happy. Investors will be happy; government, communities, suppliers, everybody will be happy; so it is our expectation that a full rebound to where it was previously will be achieved,” he said.

The price of gold has inched up by about 20 percent since it started recovering: players in the mining sector are enthusiastic about a further increase.

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