(Kitco News) – Silver could also be Thomas Kaplan’s old flame as he sees the potential for the valuable steel to ultimately push to $100; nonetheless, he’s additionally not giving up on gold as he sees the yellow steel within the third-wave of a secular bull market that may take it “well past new highs.”

Many traders turned bullish on gold in mid-2020 as central banks and governments flooded monetary markets with huge liquidity to assist the besieged world economic system, devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic; nonetheless, Kaplan famous that gold was already in a bull market lengthy earlier than the pandemic hit.

“All of the pandemic has served to do is to make individuals now perceive that the query of cash and what’s cash when clearly it may be printed at will, he stated. “The debasement of currencies is clearly very, very bullish for gold.”

Not solely is gold backed by stable fundamentals as a financial steel, however Kaplan famous that gold seems good from a provide and demand outlook. He stated that he sees the trade struggling to interchange the ounces of gold that it has produced.

“If Barrick is true, and [gold] manufacturing is declining by about 5% a 12 months, for a variety of years ahead, we actually are reaching a excellent storm,” he stated.

With the gold trade affected by new discoveries, Kaplan stated that it’s important to maneuver ahead with initiatives like NOVAGOLD Sources’ (TSX: NG) Donlin property. The Alaskan-based venture has 39,000,000 ounces of gold in measured and indicated mineral assets. The corporate simply completed its largest drill program in 12 years.

The Donlin venture is a 50-50 three way partnership between NOVAGOLD and Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD).

Kaplan stated that’s no rush to convey the venture, which he describes as a “class killer,” to manufacturing. He added that it’s extra vital that they absolutely perceive the property’s geological potential.

“Our perspective is that this factor goes to be round for 50 years, possibly 100 years, possibly extra, the exploration potential there may be in all probability higher than virtually some other mining venture on the planet,” he stated. “I believe we will stay up for an enormous mine life; what we actually need to be sure that is that it is constructed correctly from the entrance finish. We’re extraordinarily excited as a result of issues appear to be figuring out precisely as we might hoped that they’d, when it comes to the drill program.”

Kaplan described the Donlin venture because the “Holy Grail” within the mining trade not solely due to its useful resource but in addition due to its location.

“Alaska is the second-largest gold producer in a nation,” he stated. “We’re situated in a jurisdiction the place, once I go to sleep at night time, I do know that what I assumed I personal the night time earlier than, I nonetheless personal. As somebody who made their bones in Bolivia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Congo, I might go on, I imagine that that period is over.”