The international gold price reached a record high of US$3500 per ounce yesterday before retreating to around US$3400 per ounce.
Thus far, gold is one of the major commodity winners as it has risen above 31% this year.
This jump in the gold price is good news for Namibian gold miners such as the QKR Navachab gold mine and B2Gold’s Otjikoto operation.
The escalating gold price is how investors are reacting to more and more uncertainty coming from United States president Donald Trump. His flip-flopping policies and unclear tariff directives are pushing investors to seek the traditionally safe haven of gold investments.
The global gold price jumped to record highs when Trump attacked US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, threatening to oust him as the head of the independent US Federal Reserve.
Trump’s back-and-forth tariff announcements continue to weaken investors’ confidence in the US economy.
B2Gold Namibia’s Otjikoto mine recently posted a record profit, driven by record-high gold prices. Although Otjikoto’s open-pit mining is set to end operations at the end of this year due to the depletion of gold ore, the company plans to process its ore stockpiles up to at least 2032.
Meanwhile, Otjikoto’s underground operations are set to continue until 2027, with the potential for an extension if ongoing exploration uncovers additional mineral deposits.
Meanwhile, the QKR Navachab’s gold mine has grown significantly over the years, with 2024 marking a record gold production of nearly 130 000 ounces, which is almost three times the production level of less than four years ago.
The mine has also invested more than N$3.5 billion into its operations, a move that has led to increased efficiency and output. Employment figures have surged, with the workforce growing from 600 to more than 1 200 employees, 70% of whom are from Karibib, Usakos and Otjimbingwe.
“We have big expansion plans with more than N$200 million injected into service exploration and over U$30 million (N$545 million) into underground exploration since November last year. This is just the beginning,” said the mine’s managing director, George Botshiwe.
QKR Navachab’s board of directors recently approved the mine’s extension, pushing operations from 2033 to 2036, and processing operations from 2042 to 2045. This decision comes on the back of substantial investment in exploration and technology aimed at sustaining and enhancing production capacity.
Meanwhile, an analyst has predicted that gold prices could surge to US$5 000 an ounce if tensions between the United States and China continue to escalate.
This is according to global financial advisory giant, deVere Group, whose chief executive officer Nigel Green said: “The world is watching a strategic decoupling of the world’s two largest economies in real time”.
“The notion that either side will back down is fading fast. And as the risks of a full decoupling grow, so does the demand for gold,” he said.
“Capital seeks clarity. Right now, we have anything but that. The US and China are now competing not only economically, but ideologically. This is not a short-term cycle — it’s a long-term realignment. And it’s driving a seismic shift in portfolio strategy,” said Green.