A GOLD industry executive has warned the sector to retain its technical discipline amid record prices for the metal.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Fortuna Mining CEO Jorge Ganoza said: “We, as captains of industry, the people who decide the allocation of capital towards new project development, need to keep very disciplined”.
“Investors have the luxury of coming in and coming out but we have to mine every day,” he added.
Investors have flooded into gold and other safe haven assets, such as the Swiss franc, as US President Donald Trump’s tariff wars and attacks on Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell rattled markets, said the Financial Times.
Ganoza’s comments come as the precious metal reached $3,500 per ounce last month, fuelling concern that miners could be tempted to take on too many projects. “In previous cycles [of high prices] about a decade ago mining companies were very complacent, thinking that higher prices would take care of everything,” Ganoza said.
Fortuna Mining sold its Yaramoko mine in Burkina Faso for $130m recently to local investors who are seeking to run the business despite its declining resources.
Fortuna, which took over Yaramoko in 2021 through a nearly $900m acquisition of gold miner Roxgold, will now focus on its assets in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Latin America, said the newspaper citing Ganoza.
The Peruvian executive said that while Burkina Faso’s government had engaged with the company and ensured security for its operations, Fortuna had “found tactically better opportunities in other regions”.
“It is important that the Burkinabe government does its best efforts in providing stability to investment, particularly in mining which is a long-term investment.”
