Mining Mogul Frank Giustra's Grand Return To Gold

Daniela Cambone  

Tuesday June 20, 2017 14:43

(Kitco News) - Canadian mining maverick and entrepreneur, Frank Giustra does not mince words.

While the mining mogul and philanthropist is involved in a vast array of projects ranging from an olive oil venture in Italy to Thunderbird, the film production company behind the upcoming Blade Runner sequel, it is truly when his first love -- gold -- is brought up that he gets passionate. 

This January, marked a return to the resource sector for Giustra, who took a hiatus during the commodities downturn. His latest undertaking is Leagold Mining Corp., a mid-tier gold producer based in Mexico, which bought the Los Filos mine from Goldcorp Inc. for US$350 million.

Despite current market sentiment, which has pushed gold futures to a five-week low, Giustra sees potential for the yellow metal.

“Wall Street has done a good job of talking down gold and labeling it a barbaric relic,” he said during his interview with Kitco News.

And while Giustra stops short of using the word “manipulated” in conjunction with gold, he does not shy away from using the word “managed.”

“Manipulated is a strong term,” Giustra said. “I think [gold is] managed and managed by the policymakers that need to keep confidence in a system when the system starts to go sideways,” he said.

Giustra believes Western governments do not want citizens amassing gold because it signals a loss of confidence. And any major spike in the gold price undermines confidence in the financial system.

“All sorts of things are said to make gold sound like that barbaric relic that does not belong in your portfolio,” he said, noting that Wall Street execs are  not  fans of the metal since it presents few opportunities to generate fees.

Despite his beliefs, Giustra said he stays in the game because he ultimately sees gold as one’s lifeline.

“When everything else goes wrong, which it will, one way or another, gold will be the only real asset left that will also not only act as a store of value, but a currency…it’s your hedge against the world going bonkers,” he said.

Giustra is the early architect of countless resource companies—most notably Wheaton River Minerals, now known as Goldcorp; Petro Rubiales (now Pacific Rubiales); and Urasia Energy. Giustra also founded Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., one of the world’s largest independent film studios.

Giustra is also known globally for his humanitarian efforts, through his work via his Vancouver-based Radcliffe Foundation. Over the last 20 years, the foundation has raised millions of dollars to support initiatives that help reduce poverty worldwide.