What does a veteran mining executive look for when investing his money in junior equities? In this interview with The Gold Report, Rob McEwen, who has been predicting $5,000/oz gold prices since 2011, explains why he still thinks that this is a possibility in the next four years and how companies can take advantage of technology to ensure that a price rise goes to the bottom line—and ultimately shareholders. And he shares the names of the three companies that meet his litmus test, one of which bears his name.
The Gold Report: For the last five years, you’ve been predicting $5,000/ounce ($5,000/oz) gold. Are you still predicting that and what would drive it there?
Rob McEwen: Yes, and the reasons are even more pressing and relevant. The industrialized world has never before increased the money supply as fast and as large as it is today and government debt is at unimaginable and unsustainable levels. The central bankers’ objective was to get the global economy back up and running, but so far it hasn’t worked. Interest rates are dragging along the floor and have forced investors and savers to desert their prudent ways and seek riskier investments in a frantic search for yield. Our governments want us to spend, to consume believing this will keep the economy afloat. But they are wrong and pushing the wrong levers. What we need urgently is capital investment that creates jobs and expands the tax base. Unfortunately, this is not happening.
On top of this setting, there appears to be a number of powerful countries that want to remove the U.S. dollar from its role as the reserve currency of the world. These players have been strategically moving to reduce the role of the dollar in their economies and lessen the need to buy dollars to buy …read more