GOLD!

[CygnusKnights]

So.. I'm thinkin about buying a few ounces of gold... as an investment.
The trend overall has been goin up. But it's got it's ups and downs. This is not a big investment.. probably 3000-5000 Canadian dollars only. I don't expect major growth either. Anyone have any suggestions on whether I should buy or not? I'd like some links to learn more about these things too!

So here's what I was planning on doing.. Buying gold and just leaving it there. The 24k type with the .9999 kind of gold. As of right now it's between 1100-1200 ish. Anyone think it'll go up? I rather not buy stocks/funds or any other form of investing for now. I'm interested in gold

anything would be kindly appreciated!

 

[MrToolhung]

My bf would say buy! He convinced his father to buy gold and silver a few years back and he is doing very well for himself. Consider buying other precious metals as well to diversify.

 

[CygnusKnights]

the price of gold in the past 5 years has gone up nicely
what im basically asking is.. do you think it'll keep goin up?
or.. as america and canada progress out of the recession... will the price of gold..fall?

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

As a Goldsmith I work with precious metals all the time, I buy them regularly also, and yes there has been a steady increase in the price of gold for some time now, however gold is not an especially good investment. The reason for this is simple, all it takes is the discovery of a single deposit or even several deposits and the price of gold plummets, also in the longterm shares dramatically out perform precious metal prices.

These days I tend to work with rarer and more costly metals, Palladium and Rhodium in particular, both of which are significantly more expensive than gold (I'm discounting silver completely here because of its abundance), Rhodium is the most expensive of all the precious metals and is much much rarer than gold.

Ultimately it is rarity which drives the price of precious metals, gold is comparatively more abundant than other metals and is always likely to be so, mines are opened all the time and the price of gold is dependent upon the next big seam exploitation. Rare Earth metals such as Gandolinium, Samarium, Neodymium or Promethium, and the less rare but equally precious Coltan and Lithium are an excellent investment since though they are not defined as precious they are in fact vital to production of the technologies which drive the modern world, these metals will never be abundant (in our lifetimes at least) and investment in them is considered extremely wise.

If you are still set on buying precious metals then I strongly advise you not to invest in Gold, perhaps Rhodium, Platinum or Palladium would be a better choice but in my opinion its Rare Earth metals which are the smartest choice.

 

[TurkeyWithaSunburn]

Coltan isn't a metal you silly goose, it's a mineral :tongue: that gets refined to Tantalum (used in cellphones and other electronics).

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

Coltan isn't a metal you silly goose, it's a mineral :tongue: that gets refined to Tantalum (used in cellphones and other electronics).

I know :redface: I meant Tantalum, I just always remember Coltan and not Tantalum for some reason :biggrin1:

 

[TurkeyWithaSunburn]

I know :redface: I meant Tantalum, I just always remember Coltan and not Tantalum for some reason :biggrin1:

I figured you knew it but had to catch ya on it. :biggrin:

And to clarify did you just say investing in Promethium was a good idea?
Doing a little nuclear work are you?
Promethium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Promethium

Investing in rare earths particularly neodymium might be a good idea. China was once the main supplier of rare earth compounds. Now? Good luck getting rare earths in bulk quantities, they seem to only want to export finished products containing rare earth. Going so far as to enact taxes and bans of bulk exports.
(China produces 97% of Neodymium)

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

I figured you knew it but had to catch ya on it. :biggrin:

And to clarify did you just say investing in Promethium was a good idea?
Doing a little nuclear work are you?
Promethium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Promethium

Investing in rare earths particularly neodymium might be a good idea. China was once the main supplier of rare earth compounds. Now? Good luck getting rare earths in bulk quantities, they seem to only want to export finished products containing rare earth. Going so far as to enact taxes and bans of bulk exports.
(China produces 97% of Neodymium)

Yeah Promethium is supposed to be the next big thing, nuclear power is going to be pretty vital now petrochemicals are becoming rarer.

Your right of course, not only would it be difficult to actually buy a physical quantity of any particular Rare Earth, but it would be pretty pointless too since investment in the companies which prospect for and exploit these metals would be much much more lucrative. :wink: