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related
also:
 Gold Futures Market Facts
For
various reasons, trading futures contracts in the
gold market has been popular among investors.
Gold can act as a hedge
against inflation - the rare precious metal it is,
and has played as an article of currency for hundreds
of years. As well as being a clear mark of wealth.
The properties of the metal are noteworthy. Gold offers high resistances to
corrosion by oxygen and moisture, and, has thermal and electrical conductive
qualities.
Normally it requires the process of alloying
for the sake of practical hardening.
Present applications are in electronics and circuitry (particularly for cables,
electronic contacts, computers, spacecraft and jets) and restorative dentistry
as well as for uses in the medical fields. Future applications have been
targeted with fuel cells, cancer research (nanoparticle scale) and pollution
control.
World
production: There are approximately 400 mines with most of the production coming
from South Africa. Recently in 2007 China production took
the lead exceeding this estimate. Other producing countries include Australia,
Russia and Peru while the U.S. country states of Nevada and South Dakota tend
to supply most the United States.
More than half of the demand for gold is found primarily among the countries
of Turkey, China, the United States, India and Italy.
While as recent as, during the year 2010, both India and China each chose to
increase their stockpiles by in excess of 200 metric tonnes. Dramatic increases
over the prior years.
Mining operations are sensitive to a host of factors, and individual mining
share prices reflect sensitively toward these. Mining shares
can take on even more dramatic movements in response to similiar directions
in spot prices. All the while dealing with their own internal factors, such
as greater risks of discovery as underground
reserves become increasingly scarce, while extraction and purification methods
become more elaborate and costlier. Although there are speculations for
its abundance in the ocean waters - overall, at about 1 to 2 parts per 10 billion
occurance.
Economical methods of extraction
have
been attempted but have not been feasibly demonstrated.
Mine profitability is also impacted by fluctuations in monetary exhange rates,
given that many companies operate mines among their residing countries currencies. Further
challenges yet are posed by the signifcant effects and controversy
of waste rock (and its rehabilitation), and the binding social costs that must
obligated toward local communities of the area. All part of
the mix.
Gold futures trading is on the COMEX which merged with the NYME – New York
Mercantile Exchange in 1994 as a commodity futures exchange. And on
CBOT – Chicago
Board of Trade.
In addition to trading gold futures, alternate investment vehicles include bullion,
coins and mining companies.
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