Billionaire critical minerals investor pivots to gold as commodity flourishes
Tim Goyder made his fortune from lithium, nickel, copper and platinum group elements
Rowan Dunne
Like many, wealthy Australian mining investor Tim Goyder has been paying alot more attention to gold in recent months as its value continues to rise.
Goyder made his fortune from lithium, base metals and platinum group elements. But, the price of that popular battery metal has plummeted over the past few years, largely due to oversupply and overhype. Furthermore, the other commodities have been volatile in comparison to gold.
To capitalize on gold’s ongoing bull run, Goyder aims to develop Minerals 260 Ltd ASXMI6 OTCMKTSMTSZF into Western Australia’s next mid-tier gold producer. He currently serves as chairman and holds a 7.3 per cent stake.
This Aussie mining company acquired the past-producing Bullabulling gold mine project in the Australian Outback earlier this year, estimated to hold 2.3 million ounces or more. Minerals 260 is currently completing an extensive drill program to enhance its understanding of the site’s mineralization and aims to get it into production by 2028. Low gold prices prompted the mine to close in the late 1990s.
“This is the most exciting period for gold for the last 70 or 80 years,” Goyder said earlier this month.
The mining investor is shooting for annual production of 150 kilo ounces at the project.
In addition to his enthusiasm for Minerals 260, he also recently upped his stake in the junior gold mining company Lachlan Star Ltd ASXLSA to 8.5 per cent after obtaining a 7.3 per cent interest at the end of 2023.
Goyder achieved billionaire status that year — primarily from his holdings in lithium producer Liontown Resources Ltd ASXLTR OTCMKTSLINRF FRALIS and Chalice Mining Ltd ASXCHN OTCMKTSCGMLF FRAC8U. Despite lithium’s recent downturn, he still has optimism for the industry in the long run.
“Lithium prices are low, but long term I think we’ve got a very, very good business,” he told ABC Australia this week.
For gold, the number of banks and analysts predicting that its ascension will continue for the remainder of the year and beyond currently outweighs the amount of bearish forecasts significantly. Goldman Sachs Group Inc NYSEGS thinks the spot price could ascend to US$3,700 by year-end; John Paulson recently said that it could be worth up to US$5,000 per ounce by 2028; Bank of America Corp NYSEBAC FRANCB believes it will soon hover around US$3,500 a coin, and the list goes on.
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