Experts Envision Premium Gold Prices Amid Global Uncertainty

1. Dryden Gold Corp., Dakota Gold Corp., Irving Resources Inc., and StrikePoint Gold Inc. are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports and pay SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$4,000 and US$5,000. 
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A partner at a major capital management firm suggested to Kitco News last month that a rare convergence of gold demand from both the East and the West suggested dramatic revaluation of gold could be in store.

Tavi Costa, a partner and macro strategist at Crescat Capital, highlighted a recent report by the firm that examined the potential for gold prices to reach extraordinary levels if the U.S. were to revalue its gold inventory relative to outstanding Treasuries, Anna Golubova reported for Kitco on March 7.

"To me, it comes down to the treasury. How much treasuries are outstanding out there — 36 trillion. How much do we own of gold?" Costa stated.

Currently, the value of U.S. gold reserves is about 2% of those Treasuries outstanding, compared to roughly 17% in the 1970s and close to 40% in the 1940s, Kitco reported.

"And if we're going to go back to the 17%, it takes us back to US$25,000 dollars an ounce, or if we go back to the 40%, it's close to US$55,000 an ounce," Costa explained, noting that these are not price targets but serve to illustrate the potential for significant valuation shifts.

Gold has not soared quite that high yet, but its attractiveness as a safe haven in uncertain geopolitical times has the yellow metal breaking fresh records this spring. It gained nearly 2% and surpassed the US$3,200 mark on Friday, spurred by a weaker dollar and recession concerns over the intensifying trade war between U.S. and China, Anmol Choubey reported for Reuters.

Spot gold was up 1.4% to US$3,217.15 an ounce at 12:11 GMT, after hitting a record high of US$3,237.56 earlier in the session. Bullion was up nearly 6% so far for the week.

"Recession risks are mounting, bond yields are soaring, and the U.S. dollar continues to weaken — all factors reinforcing gold's role as a crisis hedge and inflation shield," said Alexander Zumpfe, a precious metals trader at Heraeus Metals Germany, according to Choubey.

Expert: 'Gold Will March Higher'

The yellow metal had fallen below US$3,000 per ounce earlier this week to its lowest level since March 13 after reaching a record high on April 3.

China's Ministry of Commerce has vowed it will "fight to the end" over U.S. tariffs, raising concerns over further economic disruption and triggering a risk-off mood in markets globally.

"We're just living in a world of extreme uncertainty. We just don't really know which way this trade war is going to go. ... I think for the course of this year, gold will march higher," Nitesh Shah, commodities strategist at WisdomTree, told Reuters.

While not approaching the heights of Costa's revaluation of gold inventory relative to Treasuries, others are predicting gold will still go much higher.

Garth Friesen wrote for Forbes on March 15 that DoubleLine Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Gundlach said, "I think gold will make it to US$4,000. I'm not sure that'll happen this year, but I feel like that's the measured move anticipated by the long consolidation at around US$1,800 on gold."

And according to an April 10 post on Goldfix, Goldman Sachs has revised its year-end 2025 gold price target to US$3,300 an ounce, and raised the upper boundary of its forecast range to US$3,520 an ounce and even introduced a "tall-risk scenario" as high as US$4,500 an ounce.

"The revision stems primarily from upside surprises in ETF inflows and persistent, large-scale central bank gold purchases," the article noted.

Many exploration companies are making discoveries that could lead to returns for the savvy investor.

Dryden Gold Corp.

Dryden Gold Corp. (DRY:TSXV; DRYGF:OTCQB) is focused on the discovery of high-grade gold mineralization and controls a 100% interest in a dominant strategic land position in the Dryden District of Northwestern Ontario.

Its property package includes historic gold mines but has seen limited modern exploration. It hosts high-grade gold mineralization over 50 kilometers of potential strike length along the Manitou-Dinorwic deformation zone.

The property has excellent infrastructure, enjoys collaborative relationships with First Nations communities and benefits from proximity to an experienced mining workforce, the company said. 

This month, Dryden announced the intersection of a new mineralized structure containing visible gold (VG) at its Elora target within the Gold Rock Camp. The discovery was made in hole KW-25-003, which cut through a folded quartz vein in sheared basalt approximately 80 meters from the main Elora mineralized structure. This marks what the company describes as "the most significant amount of VG that Dryden Gold has intersected to date," according to President Maura Kolb in the company news release.

The newly identified zone is located within the hanging wall of the Elora Gold System, which, like the broader Gold Rock Camp, lies within a region geologically similar to the Red Lake, Kirkland Lake, and Timmins Archean lode gold camps.

Drilling at Elora is part of Dryden Gold's fully funded 2025 drill program, which began in late March and is targeting depths between 250 and 550 meters. All five holes completed at depth so far have intersected zones of shearing and sulfide mineralization consistent with the project's exploration model.

On February 7, Ron Wortel of Couloir Capital stated that the company's approach aligned with its geological model and district-scale ambitions. "Dryden Gold Corp. was created to explore and generate shareholder value through gold resource discovery and delineation of the Dryden Gold Camp using an Archean orogenic gold deposit model," he wrote. Wortel added that, with a "fully funded 2025 exploration program," the company was expected to generate further discoveries that could attract greater market attention and lead to higher valuations.

On the same day, Brien Lundin of Gold Newsletter added Dryden Gold to his watchlist, noting improved exploration focus at the Gold Rock project. "A key reason I added Dryden Gold Corp. to our list last week is a sense that the company had an increasingly good idea of where to look for more gold on the Gold Rock project," he wrote. He also stated that, with drilling underway at Elora, "the chances of high-grade assays from this effort are quite good," and described the stock as a buy at current levels.

With a combination of high-grade historical results, limited prior deep drilling, and a well-funded exploration plan, the company expects continuous news flow from drill programs and surface work throughout 2025.

According to the company, management and insiders own 7.62%, with strategic entities owning 56.78% of Dryden.  

Centerra Gold Inc. (CG:TSX; CADGF:OTCPK) holds 9.37% with  Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI:TSX; AGI:NYSE) holding a 14.44% stake in it. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC owns 4.58%. There are 159 million shares outstanding. 

Its market cap is CA$23.71 million, and it trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.22 and CA$0.10.

Dakota Gold Corp.

Last month, Dakota Gold Corp. (DC:NYSE American) announced it successfully closed on financing to raise US$35 million. As a result, the company said it had more than US$47 million in cash and was fully funded through the end of the feasibility study for its Richmond Hill project in South Dakota's historic Homestake District.

"Richmond Hill is one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in the United States being advanced by a junior mining company," Dakota said in a release. "Once the company completes its feasibility study on the project, it expects to commence the permitting process where it could see potential production as early as 2029."

This follows the announcement of a "transformational" resource focused on heap leachable gold at Richmond Hill and further positive drill results from the project.

In a Feb. 26 research note, BMO Analyst Andrew Mikitchook highlighted key points from Dakota President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Quartermain's presentation at BMO Capital Markets' recent Global Metals, Mining and Critical Minerals Conference.

"2025 is shaping up to be a transformational year for Dakota Gold as the company moves to become a developer establishing a pathway to production," Mikitchook wrote.

Mikitchook rates the stock Outperform with a US$7.50 per share target price, a 148% return for investors at the time of the report.

The company said it has outlined a clear path to reach commercial production with the next important catalyst being the Richmond Hill Initial Assessment with Cash Flow targeted for release in mid-2025. A full feasibility study is expected mid-2027. Dakota said it is concurrently undertaking baseline environmental studies to inform permitting requirements.

The historic Homestake Mine produced 41 Moz gold and 9 Moz silver over 126 years. The company has 48,000 acres of holdings surrounding the original mine, which was first discovered in 1876 and consolidated by George Hearst.

John Newell of John Newell & Associates wrote, "The area surrounding super giant deposits like Homestake is believed to contain significant additional gold resources, making it prime real estate for exploration."

"The Dakota Gold project is located near the Homestake Mine, which historically produced more than 40 Moz of gold," he wrote. This proximity suggests a high potential for similar deposits. Being in the shadow of many old mines increases the probability of finding significant mineral resources."

About 15% of the company's shares are with management and insiders, including Co-chairman, Director, President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Quartermain, who holds the most shares at 7.1%, while COO Jerry Aberle holds 4.1%, the company said.

About 26% of its shares are with institutional investors. Top institutional holders include Van Eck Associates with 3.2%, Blackrock Institutional Trust Co. with 3.6%, The Vanguard Group Inc. with about 3.2%, and Fidelity Management and Research Co. LLC with 2.3%.

About 16.5% is with strategic investors, including Orion Mine Finance, which owns about 9.0%, and Barrick Gold Corp., which owns about 2.0%. The rest is retail.

Dakota Gold has a market cap of US$299.08 million, with 107.97 million shares outstanding. It trades in a 52-week range of US$3.50 and US$1.84.

Irving Resources Inc.

Irving Resources Inc. (IRV:CSE; IRVRF:OTCQX) is a Canadian explorer with backing from several majors going after gold and silver in Japan, a country known for some of the highest-grade gold mines in the world with dozens of past-producing epithermal mines.

In November 2024, Irving entered into an option agreement with JX Advanced Metals Corp. whereby JX Metals may earn an interest in certain of Irving's properties in Omu, Hokkaido, focusing on precious metal-bearing silica deposits.

The company drilled a single hole in November at the Omu gold project at the Omui historic mine site.

In March, JX's initial public offering (IPO) was Japan's largest since 2018, raising US$2.97 billion, Reuters reported. It was once the metals unit of Eneos, Japan's largest oil refiner, which retains a 42.4% stake in JX.

Irving President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director Akiko Levinson told Streetwise Reports that JX needs the Omu mine's silica, "Which we happen to find right on the surface in 2023 drilling . . .  Meanwhile, we keep everything else in Omu," including high-grade mineralized materials from our over 20,000 meters drilling.

"If we find high-grade gold and silver to mix with this silica that they're intending to build a mine for, it becomes a very interesting, profitable venture for us," she said.

Irving is planning to drill more holes this spring and expects results from the November drilling in the next couple of weeks, which could be a catalyst for the company's stock.

Brian Leni of Junior Stock Review said he believed the stock "spells opportunity."

"Today, I would like to tell you about Irving Resources Inc., whose projects I recently visited in Japan," Leni wrote for Streetwise Reports in November. "In my view, Irving is selling for less than it's worth, considering the potential upside of discovery at its Yamagano project. Not only that, but this junior company is exploring Yamagano" with Newmont Corp. (NEM:NYSE) and Sumitomo Corp. (8053:TKY; SSUMF:OTCPK).

The Yamagano mining district is about 11 kilometers southwest of the large, high-grade Hishikari gold mine. It is host to innumerable historic gold mine workings, some dating back to 1640 during the early Edo Period in Japan, Irving said on its website.

"When it comes to Irving, I have long seen the potential of their project portfolio," Leni wrote. "Visiting Yamagano and Omu in person and meeting the technical team that is executing the exploration work has only further solidified that potential in my mind. To me, Yamagano holds the key to garnering frothy market attention once again. … I clearly see that there will be a steady stream of project development across Japan moving out into the future."

In a post on his website in March, Analyst Jayant Bhandari said he and his clients have been long-term investors in the company.

"The designated areas within this agreement are progressing toward becoming mines, primarily for silica with gold credits," he said of Omu. "IRV is set to release the results of a recently drilled hole there. From IRV's perspective, the current drilling aims to increase the gold grade of the material destined for smelters . . .  High-grade silica from Omu is expected to be in strong demand."

Bhandari continued, "IRV has stagnated for several months while similar companies have moved up," he said. "I prefer to invest when others aren't paying attention."

The company said management and directors own about 9.3%, and strategic investors Newmont and Sumitomo own 19.2% and 5.2%, respectively.

Yahoo Finance said about 1% is owned institutions. The rest is retail.

According to Refinitiv, top insiders include President and Chief Executive Officer Akiko Levinson with 4.84% and Director and Technical Advisor Quinton Hennigh with 3.05%.

Irving Resources has a market cap of CA$19.03 million with 76.69 million shares outstanding. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.19 and CA$0.48.

StrikePoint Gold Inc.

StrikePoint Gold Inc.s (SKP:TSX.V; STKXF:OTCQB)  has recently wrapped up its drill program at its flagship Hercules gold project in Nevada's Walker Lane, with the first batch of drill results in "mid to late April."

Michael G. Allen gave an update to shareholders in a short YouTube video on March 27, saying it was "a very exciting time for StrikePoint Gold.

"What we're doing on the project right now is we're drilling," Allen said. "We have completed seven drill holes . . .  testing a geological concept that we came up with back in 2020."

Allen said he plans to be able to update the market on the company's progress later this month.

In March, StrikePoint announced the start of the infill and expansion drilling program, which is meant to build on its recently published exploration target at the project in a technical report earlier this month.

The drill-defined, bulk-tonnage exploration target, as described in the NI 43-101 compliant report, hosts between 819,000 ounces and 1,018,000 ounces (1.018 Moz) of gold (Au) within 40.3 million to 65.6 million tonnes of mineralized material with estimated grades between 0.48 and 0.63 grams per tonne (g/t) Au.

The company's other Walker Lane project, Cuprite, covers 44 square kilometers and encompasses 574 unpatented claims.

*"Cuprite was off limits for exploitation up until relatively recently, and so by Walker Lane standards, it is relatively 'virgin' territory with big discovery potential," Technical Analyst Clive Maund wrote in a recent contributor opinion.

Last year, StrikePoint completed a five-hole maiden drill program at Cuprite, which showed mineralization in four of the holes.

Shortly after the target report was released, Jeff Clark of The Gold Advisor noted that he was looking forward to StrikePoint's exploration plans this year.

"Based on the prospectivity of Hercules, especially given this new exploration target report, I expect this project to receive the lion's share of StrikePoint's attention in 2025," wrote on March 6. "That said, I’m still waiting for an actual exploration program at Hercules before I move the company off our hold list."

Maund described StrikePoint as a stock with big upside and very little downside.

According to Refinitiv, Executive Chairman Shawn Khunkhun owns 0.28% of the company, President and CEO Allen owns 1%, Director Ian Richard Harris owns 0.07%, and Director Adrian Wallace Fleming owns 0.02%.

Refinitiv reported that institutional and strategic investors own approximately 13.47% of the company, including 2176423 Ontario Ltd. with 7.17%, and Pathfinder Asset Management Ltd. with 4.81%.

According to Refinitiv, the company has 41.59 million shares outstanding and a market cap of CA$5.78 million. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.12 and CA$0.85.