blog gold

How to get $12 billion of gold

2012-02-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

How to get $12 billion of gold to Venezuela

Ever since the news broke last week that Hugo Chávez wanted to transport 211 tons of physical gold from Europe to Caracas, I’ve been wondering how on earth he possibly intends to do such a thing.

There are 99 tons already being held at the Bank of England; according to the FT , the plan is to transfer other gold to the Bank of England from custodians such as Barclays, HSBC, and Standard Chartered; then, once it’s all in one place, um, well, nobody has a clue what might happen. Here’s the best guess from the FT:

Venezuela would need to transport the gold in several trips, traders said, since the high value of gold means it would be impossible to insure a single aircraft carrying 211 tonnes. It could take about 40 shipments to move the gold back to Caracas, traders estimated.

“It’s going to be quite a task. Logistically, I’m not sure if the central bank realises the magnitude of the task ahead of them,” said one senior gold banker.

I put the ever-resourceful Nick Rizzo on the task, but he came up with little more: the market in physical gold is tiny, and largely comprised of nutcases. The last (and only) known case of this kind of quantity of gold being transported across state lines took place almost exactly 75 years ago, in 1936, when the government of Spain removed 560 tons of gold from Madrid to Moscow as the armies of Francisco Franco approached. Most of the gold was exchanged for Russian weaponry, with the Soviet Union keeping 2.1% of the funds in the form of commissions and brokerage, and an additional 1.2% in the form of transport, deposit, melting, and refining expenses.

It’s not much of a precedent, but it’s the only precedent we’ve got; my gut feeling is that Venezuela would be do well to get away with paying 3.3% of the total value of the gold in total expenses. Given that the gold is worth some $12.3 billion, the cost of Chávez’s gesture politics might reasonably be put at $400 million or so.

It seems to me that Chávez has four main choices here. He can go the FT’s route, and just fly the gold to Caracas while insuring each shipment for its market value. He can go the Spanish route, and try to transport the gold himself, perhaps making use of the Venezuelan navy. He could attempt the mother of all repo transactions. Or he could get clever.

In the first instance, the main cost would be paid by Venezuela to a big insurance company. I have no idea how many insurers there are in the world who would be willing to take on this job, but it can’t be very many, and it might well be zero. If Venezuela wanted just one five-ton shipment flown to Caracas in conditions of great secrecy, that would be one thing. But Chávez’s intentions have been well telegraphed at this point, making secrecy all but impossible. And even if the insurer got the first shipment through intact, there would be another, and another, and another — each one surely the target of criminally-inclined elements both inside and outside the Venezuelan government. Gold is the perfect heist: anonymous, untraceable, hugely valuable. Successfully intercepting just one of the shipments would yield a haul of more than $300 million, making it one of the greatest robberies of all time. And you’d have 39 chances to repeat the feat.

Would any insurer voluntarily hang a “come get me” sign around its neck like that? They’d have to be very well paid to do so. So maybe Chávez intends to take matters into his own hands, and just sail the booty back to Venezuela on one of his own naval ships. Again, the theft risk is obvious — seamen can be greedy too — and this time there would be no insurance. Chávez is pretty crazy, but I don’t think he’d risk $12 billion that way.

Which leaves one final alternative. Gold is fungible, and people are actually willing to pay a premium to buy gold which is sitting in the Bank of England’s ultra-secure vaults. So why bother transporting that gold at all? Venezuela could enter into an intercontinental repo transaction, where it sells its gold in the Bank of England to some counterparty, and then promises to buy it all back at a modest discount, on condition that it’s physically delivered to the Venezuelan central bank in Caracas. It would then be up to the counterparty to work out how to get 211 tons of gold to Caracas by a certain date. That gold could be sourced anywhere in the world, and transported in any conceivable manner — being much less predictable and transparent, those shipments would also be much harder to hijack.

How much of a discount would a counterparty require to enter into this kind of transaction? Much more than 3.3%, is my guess. And again, it’s not entirely clear who would even be willing to entertain the idea. Glencore, perhaps?

But here’s one last idea: why doesn’t Chávez crowdsource the problem? He could simply open a gold window at the Banco Central de Venezuela, where anybody at all could deliver standard gold bars. In return, the central bank would transfer to that person an equal number of gold bars in the custody of the Bank of England, plus a modest bounty of say 2% — that’s over $15,000 per 400-ounce bar, at current rates.

It would take a little while, but eventually the gold would start trickling in: if you’re willing to pay a constant premium of 2% over the market price for a good, you can be sure that the good in question will ultimately find its way to your door. And the 2% cost of acquiring all that gold would surely be much lower than the cost of insuring and shipping it from England. It would be an elegant market-based solution to an artificial and ideologically-driven problem; I daresay Chávez might even chuckle at the irony of it. He’d just need to watch out for a rise in Andean banditry, as thieves tried to steal the bars on their disparate journeys into Venezuela.

Representation of gold in the various religions

2011-04-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

Representation of gold in the various religions

Representation of gold in the various religions
All told, in the Christian religion, as well as in Jewish culture, and Buddhist beliefs, gold represents the dignity of divinity. Religious art often appears as the statues of saints and angels, whose head is surrounded by a gold halo. And since gold is God's light, it is also present in Western Christian art, they are funds, such as the mosaics of Ravenna and Palermo. In most religions, gold is regarded as the symbol par excellence of the existence of eternity, but in the manner that each religion grants him. He is unchangeable, and eternal life is that religions preach. He is brilliant, radiant and luminous as the sun, and it represents the divinity of its existence. It is the symbol of material wealth. People who own several gold jewelry are considered wealthy, and there are even that and tons of bullion in reserve. But at the same time it is also the symbol of the existence of religions in society. Christianity, Buddhism, and Jewish beliefs use it to represent their worship and their faith. It is presented in various forms, but is unchanging, it still recognizes the significant value we assign account.
Yet there are still beliefs that separate the gold from their religion. This is especially characteristic of cults. Since, in general, they have already not a specific place, like churches or monasteries, they consider it a breach of faith. None of their members can not wear gold objects, so small it is. They forbid any use of object made from this material, be it jewelry or anything else. This case is becoming increasingly common, given that cults are beginning to emerge and invade the religious world. But the conventional religions still proudly wear the symbol of their faith.

Gold and Christianity

2011-04-25T11:32:00.001-07:00

Gold and Christianity

Gold and Christianity

Christians have also used the gold to highlight their beliefs. In the book of Exodus, there was the golden calf that symbolized idolatry. In the Temple of Jerusalem, several objectswere made of gold: there was a menorah, cross sections and an arch of alliances, allgold. In the New Testament, it says that the Magi from the East have offered gold atInfant Jesus at his birth. And recounts the history of Christianity still other facts: it says inthe book of the Apocalypse that Christ appears to John, surrounded by sevencandlesticks of gold, and an angel pours incense with a gold digger. The religioncombines golden eternity, which as such is unchangeable and eternal. He has thegolden color and dazzling sunshine, and it gives a divine power. In a way, gold is a myth,he is considered God's light, and shows its presence in the world. It is the symbol ofdignity, divinity par excellence.

Gold in antiquity and among Buddhists

2011-04-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Gold in antiquity and among Buddhists

Gold in antiquity and among Buddhists

Gold, by its composition, is unchangeable, it is prized for its rarity and it represents the symbolic. And many associate religion with their religious beliefs. The ancient Egyptiansgave obsessive interest for eternity and they saw the gold as the flesh of the gods. Thepharaoh had idealized his disciples, they identified with the stars, and when he died, they went so far as to fabricate gold funerary masks to save his face forever. Stillspeaking of gold and religion, the golden mask of Pharaoh Tontankhammon was made with 11 kilograms of solid gold, and his tomb was discovered more than a tonne of puregold. Buddhists are devout believers, and the largest solid gold statue of the world they are associated, it is located in Bangkok, with a phenomenal height of three meters andis composed of five and a half tonnes of gold. Tibetan Buddhists, a branch of Chinese Buddhism, are no exception. During the renovation of the Potala Palace, and moremillions of money spent by state and Tibetan beads and jewelry, they used one hundred and eleven kilograms of gold.

Gold and the World Economy

2011-04-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Gold and the World Economy

Gold and the World Economy

Since its discovery, gold was the currency exchange. Later, this system has beenformalized and the currency was made in gold. Currently, there are still those documentsin large collections. The central bank reserves consist largely of gold bullion. Given theirrarity and value, the gold nuggets are collectibles. They are often exhibited in museums,such as is currently exhibited at the Museum of the History of the United States, whichmeasure 15 cm in diameter. The discovery of gold nuggets arouses the curiosity ofamateurs and professionals, but most of the time, they remain the heritage of the countrywhere they are found. Sometimes the state or the owner later decides to sell to the highest bidder. In most cases, the chips are left in the state where they were discovered,they are so rare. Despite the currency depreciation, the value of gold is still experiencingpositive growth. The gold nuggets are still a major global financial reserves, especially since they have become collectibles.

In search of nuggets,gold

2011-04-25T11:28:00.001-07:00

In search of nuggets,gold

In search of nuggets,gold

We can locate where the gold is hidden using a metal detector. Thanks to technological advances, the performance of satellites used to indicate with precision and in real timethe location of the deposits. But curiously enough, tourists hike along the waydiscovered a gold nugget of a sufficient size. That said, a place where we found anugget is not necessarily a potential orebody. Gold is a precious and rare, his researchtakes a lot of perseverance and patience. It also requires some experience in therecognition of where he could concentrate. In general, it is in rivers that is often foundmixed with pebbles and deep roots. Professionals extraction using high-performance equipment to cover a larger area of exploration and thus gain in speed and volume.Smallholders, lack of resources, often resign themselves to use the traditional search mode that can be successful and profitable.

Nuggets of gold, a precious world

2011-04-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Nuggets of gold, a precious world

Nuggets of gold, a precious world
The gold nugget of gold is a mass of irregular shape. The size of a nugget variesconsiderably as it can as well be measured in millimeters that weigh tens of kilograms(27.2 kg for the nugget discovered in Australia in 1980). It is twice more expensive thangold because it is usually more difficult to find and its sale may bring much
money. The nuggets are found in rivers or in mineral deposits. All continents each have a reservoir of gold more or less important. South Africa is the largest producer with an annual production of 500 tons. Nevada in the United States a close second with 350tonnes annually. Canada, China and Japan are also potential producers. Russia,Indonesia, Guyana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and other African countries like Benin and the Democratic Republic of Congo and South America including Colombia, Mexico orthe Amazon, are also involved in feeding the world market. Europe, although it is not sofamous in the exploitation of gold deposits has in Germany, Spain and Switzerland. The exploration of the gold industry has more than ever motivated the men who discovered America. It is still a valid motivation today for large industries or individual farmers to go around the world and chasing new onshore fields and river. India is the largest consumerof gold in the world for

Hazards that relate to this activity

2011-04-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hazards that relate to this activity

These activities involve risks to the environment. Indeed, the extraction methods may require digging riverbeds. This can disrupt the flow of water, damaging the banks and promote erosion. On the other hand, given the massive need for labor, human exploitation, it is promoted in poor areas because the workers are paid a wage belowthe established standards. Children will also be very tempted to get to work early. Thismay disrupt their curriculum with negative impacts on their future. The case of Guyana isoften cited because of a gold rush that led to conflicts between workers. Finally, the technical studies show that such activity has adverse impacts on human health becauseof the products we use during processing such as the use of mercury for gold highquality . Given the economic importance of gold mining activity and associated historicand sentimental value to gold, we can not completely prohibit the use of these rivers for gold. However, farmers must agree on measures to address these issues andresponsible behavior. It is important to establish a series of regulations that govern thetrades pertaining to the environment, child labor, health and human rights.

The economic benefits of harnessing the rivers gold

2011-04-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

The economic benefits of harnessing the rivers gold

The economic benefits of harnessing the rivers gold
The exploitation of these natural deposits requires a major mobilization for humanmanipulation of work tools such as shovels and sieves. These activities create jobs forlocal residents and can improve their living conditions thanks to the income they derive.Moreover, gold is a valuable resource. The selling price and taxes related thereto, mayfavorably increase the financial resources of the region or country where it is located.Finally, the existence of auriferous rivers is a powerful lever for tourist activities. Thus,the protected parks filled rivers gold multiply to accommodate and guide tourists nature lovers wanting to discover the trade of gold mining activity as entertainment.

The gold mining gold in the rivers

2011-04-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

The gold mining gold in the rivers

The gold mining gold in the rivers

This activity is called panning for gold. With the development of technology, minerscurrently have a powerful hardware that accelerates the work by using high water pressure to quickly separate deposits of gold flakes or nuggets sand which they aremixed. The traditional method is widely used despite the technology is to collect mud from the river bottom with a shovel. This mixture is poured through a sieve thatimmersed in water to remove the light elements. It then removes the waste and gravelroot. The sieve is immersed in the calm water so as not to lose the content and shakento separate the elements at different densities. This is repeated many times until thegold is visible to the naked eye. Gold being the heaviest, he normally stays at the bottom. He was finally recovered by means of a spray.

Location of rivers gold

2011-04-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

Location of rivers gold

Auriferous rivers are those often found in high concentration continents in rivers. Onecan cite, among others South America and Africa, but the United States and Europe areno exception. Recently, it has also released the names of several rivers gold in France.Generally, as gold is a material
heavy, the git in the bottom of rivers. The placer gold is found concentrated in areaswhere the current is virtually nonexistent. Gold can also be embedded in the rocks on ariver and it has happened that deposits have been found on beaches near the mouth ofa river that empties into the sea

World production of gold, ever-changing

2011-04-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

World production of gold, ever-changing
Despite the existence of these major exploiters, the quantity produced globally eachyear is not always constant. There is a period where production has peaked: this is thecase for years 1970 to 2001, where production could reach 2,600 tons. Instead, we can notice periods rather hollow as 1945 to 1975 where this quantity has not exceeded1,200 tons. In any case, we know that there are still mining reserves in the world and for years to come, we can still benefit from the existence of these precious metals.

Two flagship areas of production worldwide: Australia and Russia

2011-04-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

Two flagship areas of production worldwide: Australia and Russia

Two flagship areas of production worldwide: Australia and Russia
From a historical perspective, the extraction of gold has a prominent place in Russia.Stalin's time, some mines such as the Ural Mountains were at peak production. Thequantity supplied by the mine in the Urals was spectacular in itself, unfortunately, thisamount increased from 285 tons to 250 tons in the space of 2 years, ie from 1989 to1991. Today are the mines of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the most active sourcesof Russian gold, the old Urals has in turn, produces more than a hundred tonnes of goldper year . If we head to Australia, we discover that the backbone of the economy is theproduction of gold. In fact, Australia manages to produce nearly 254 tons of gold peryear, which propels it to third place among the world's major producers.

The United States, what about the gold rush?

2011-04-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

The United States, what about the gold rush?

The United States, what about the gold rush?
The United States is not to be overlooked in the production of precious metals andespecially gold, they take second place in the amount provided annually on the world market. If at the time of the Gold Rush and the discovery of mines in California,Americans have produced a large quantity of gold, it was not the case to the 80. Thefrenzy of the researchers was a bit dull and the mines were exhausted. In 1995, the U.S.will return in force with approximately 350 tonnes of gold per year provided with newmines of Nevada. However, the great American continent does not stop the United States as there are other countries like Canada, which happens to produce nearly 150tons of gold per year. Large mines of Ontario and northwestern Quebec are not to be neglected if we speak of world production of gold. Finally, South America is not left withBrazil even if production does not reach a significant amount, with 75 tons per year,Mineracao Morro Velho mine placed in South America in range major gold producers in the world.

South Africa: major gold producing country in the world

2011-04-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

South Africa: major gold producing country in the world

South Africa: major gold producing country in the world
South Africa is among the countries that produce most of this precious metal. Initially,when the discovery of several mines scattered across the country, production haspeaked, but now the state of these mines is no longer possible to get as much quantityas before. Indeed, if the mines that have withstood more than a hundred years of exploitation are mostly around Johannesburg, about 100 m, they find themselves in difficult conditions that do not support much extraction. Too deep and require heavyconstruction, operation would be very expensive and take a long time. Despite all this,South Africa still provides 25% of world production of gold with about 550 tonnes of goldused annually.

ارتفاعات اسعار الذهب هائلة و الاتفاع الذهب يندر بالخطر

2011-04-23T04:38:00.000-07:00

ارتفاعات اسعار الذهب هائلة و ارتفاع سعر الذهب ينذر بالخطر

ارتفع سعر الذهب وسط مخاوف بشان التعافي الاقتصادي العالمي.و هذا في بداية الاسبوع

حيث خوف ارتفاع الذهب وصل سعر الذهب الى مستوى قياسي بلغ 1283.25 دولار للاونصة يوم الاثنين، مقارنة مع 1275.95 دولار في نهاية معاملات بورصة نيويورك يوم الجمعة.

ودفعت المخاوف بشأن قوة الاقتصاد العالمي والمزيد من برامج التيسير الكمي في الولايات المتحدة المستثمرين الى الاقبال على المعدن النفيس كملاذ امن.

وسجل سعر العقود الاجلة للذهب في بورصة نيويورك للمعاملات السلعية مستوى قياسيا عند 1284.90 دولار للاونصة في احدى مراحل تعاملات الاثنين.

ويعكس ارتفاع سعر الذهب، وغيره من المعادن والسلع المسعرة بالدولار الامريكي، ضعف العملة الامريكية.

وفي حال الاضطراب الاقتصادي والقلق بشأن الدولار يلجأ المستثمرون الى العقود الاجلة للسلع والمعادن الثمينة كضمان لاستثماراتهم.

سعر الذهب في لبنان 23 افريل 2011

2011-04-23T04:32:00.000-07:00

سعر الذهب في لبنان 23 افريل 2011
هذه مجموعة من معاينات لاسغار الذهب في لبنان و اسعر الذهب هذه بمعاييره معظمها و سعر الذهب بالنسبة لدولار

الوحدة ليرة لبنانية دولار أمريكى
سعر الذهب عيار24 72923.48 48.54 $
سعر الذهب عيار22   66846.52 44.49 $
سعر الذهب عيار21    63808.04 42.47 $
سعر الذهب عيار18     54692.61 36.4
$ سعر الذهب عيار 14   42538.69 28.31
$ سعر الذهب عيار 10    30384.78 20.22 $
اسعار أوقية الذهب    2268173.64 1509.65 $
اسعار جنيه الذهب 510464.32 339.76
$ اسعار كيلو الذهب 72921782.61 48535.25 $

سعار الذهب اليوم في أستراليا بالدولار الأسترالي AUD

2010-11-16T11:30:00.003-08:00

سعار الذهب اليوم في أستراليا بالدولار الأسترالي AUD

وحدة الذهب	السعر الحالي	السعر السابق	نسبة التغير
آخر تحديث: 16/11/2010 11:06am بتوقيت مدينة سدني
أوقية الذهب	1,380.10	1,385.52	-0.39 %
جنيه الذهب	310.63	311.85
جرام الذهب عيار 24	44.38	44.55
جرام الذهب عيار 21	38.82	38.97
جرام الذهب عيار 18	33.27	33.40
جرام الذهب عيار 14	25.89	25.99

سعار الذهب اليوم في أستراليا بالدولار الأسترالي AUD

2010-11-16T11:30:00.001-08:00

سعار الذهب اليوم في أستراليا بالدولار الأسترالي AUD

وحدة الذهب	السعر الحالي	السعر السابق	نسبة التغير
آخر تحديث: 16/11/2010 11:06am بتوقيت مدينة سدني
أوقية الذهب	1,380.10	1,385.52	-0.39 %
جنيه الذهب	310.63	311.85
جرام الذهب عيار 24	44.38	44.55
جرام الذهب عيار 21	38.82	38.97
جرام الذهب عيار 18	33.27	33.40
جرام الذهب عيار 14	25.89	25.99

أسعار الذهب اليوم في أستراليا بالدولار الأسترالي AUD

2010-11-16T11:29:00.001-08:00