Another week, another gold price record.
The yellow metal rose to a new high once again on Thursday (February 20), moving past the US$2,950 per ounce level for the first time ever.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that gold is being pushed higher by a strong base of underlying drivers, as well as day-to-day events.
Taking a look at this week’s key news around gold, headlines have centered on a possible audit of Fort Knox, a US Army installation in Kentucky. Fort Knox reportedly holds 147.3 million ounces of gold, but the last-known audit took place in 1953, and in the decades since then questions have been raised about whether it is intact.
The latest audit talk started when tech billionaire Elon Musk responded to a post on X in which a user said it would be ‘great’ to have Musk look into Fort Knox’s gold. Musk responded, ‘Surely it’s reviewed at least every year?’
Musk’s comment prompted a response from Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has advocated for increased transparency regarding the gold at Fort Knox for years. He signaled support for an audit with his reply, “Nope. Let’s do it.’
The idea has gained traction since then, with President Donald Trump quickly getting behind it — speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he said, ‘If the gold isn’t there, we’re going to be very upset.’
Fort Knox has been a big story for gold this week, but there are plenty of other developments worth tracking. I spoke with Craig Hemke of TFMetalsReport.com about the continued flow of gold from London to New York, and he suggested that the mainstream narrative that tariffs are driving this move could be wrong.
Instead, he believes the US may be preparing to monetize its gold, and could be bringing the precious metal into the country for that reason. He emphasized that there are many unknowns in this situation, but pointed to recent comments from newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to support this idea.
‘Within the next 12 months we’re going to monetize the asset side of the US balance sheet for the American people. We’re going to put the assets to work, and I think it’s going to be very exciting’ — US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
When asked what other under-the-radar issues we may be missing, Craig reminded investors not to forget the importance of central bank gold buying, which remains strong, and physical supply and demand numbers for gold as well as silver.
I’ll leave the link to the full interview with Craig in the video description — definitely check it out if you haven’t already and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Bullet briefing — Barrick, Mali resolve disupte, Anglo, Codelco to team up
Barrick, Mali set to resolve dispute
Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:ABX) has reportedly signed a US$438 million deal that would end a dispute over its mining assets in Mali.
According to Reuters, the Mark Bristow-led company is now waiting for Mali’s government to issue formal approval. At the time of this recording the approval had not yet come, but it’s possible it will have arrived by the time this video is posted.
The dispute between Barrick and Mali has been ongoing for nearly two years, and in November resulted in the suspension of Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto operation.
Anglo, Codelco to team up in Chile
Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF) and Chilean state-owned miner Codelco have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly operate their adjacent copper mines in the country, saying it will boost copper output with little additional capital.
Their joint release states that the arrangement will increase production of the red metal by an average of nearly 120,000 metric tons per year. In total, Anglo and Codelco anticipate generating further value of at least US$5 billion before tax.
The companies expect to enter definitive agreements in the second half of 2025.
On a similar note, Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TSX:TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) Chief Executive Jonathan Price said in a post-earnings conference call that his company is open to collaborating with Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) on copper in Chile.
“We do recognize the potential value of some form of tie up between those two operations. And it’s something that we’ve done a good deal of work on to understand the various ways in which that value could be unlocked’ — Jonathan Price, Teck Resources
Glencore made a bid for Teck in 2023, but ultimately only acquired the company’s coal business.
Price said he sees ‘potential value’ in a tie up between Teck’s QB2 mine and Glencore’s Collahuasi mine, but couldn’t share further details on plans.
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.