The Big Picture: African Gold

Somewhere in Australia, a young  man chooses to pawn jewelry temporarily, until he can get back on his feet financially again. In England, an investor calls his assistant and breathes the words, “sell my gold.” In northern Colorado, NoCo holds gold parties to celebrate gold, assess its value, and help individuals sell their wares for cash.

Meanwhile, in Africa, corporations the world over are struggling to harvest one of the world’s richest gold supplies. Africa is one of the key points in world economics right now: it is unbelievably rich in resources, yet remains one of the poorest continents in the world. Africa’s relationship to gold is one of those fascinating factors that has a direct impact on what sits in your jewelry case.

Where are the Resources?

Let’s go back to that guy in Australia, the one that wants to pawn jewelry. The price he gets at the pawn shop for that jewelry depends, fundamentally, on those two key economic buzzwords: supply and demand. So he walks into the pawn shop, says “I want to sell my gold watch,” and hands it over. The value of that gold watch rests on two questions: how much gold is available, and how much do people want it?

Gold has always been valuable, has always been aggressively mined and harvested around the world. It’s been mined in Africa for decades. However, the continent still remains largely untapped for its incredible gold reserves. There’s a lot of it that we haven’t gotten to. This resource is untapped. Because of that, gold remains scarce. Because of gold’s scarcity, that Australian gentleman’s watch remains somewhat valuable.

Gold and Africa

So that English investor decides to offload his gold investment. He decides to sell because he bought while gold was low, then sold it while gold was high. He made a profit. He smokes a twenty dollar cigar, smiles to himself, and reflects on Africa’s impact on gold’s value around the world.

Yes, Africa has gold; it has a lot of it. However, the world’s economy has taken a big hit. Africa is in a unique place: It is insanely rich in resources like gold, and as such is poised to actually grow its economy during these troubled times. There’s a caveat, though: its economy can grow, but Africans’ quality of life must grow with it. That means African mining labor must be safe. That means a global eye will be cast on safety operations in Africa. That means when safety standards aren’t meant, gold mining stops. As such, gold mining in Africa has actually slowly dwindled in recent years, though may be poised to increase in the long term.

Africa, Gold, Economics, and the Price of Tea in China

Here in Northern Colorado, NoCo Gold & Diamond hopes your gold parties will include people who are interested and educated in how gold’s value goes up and down. It’s fascinating to see how world economics, mining in Africa, and other issues can affect simple transactions like selling gold.