Gold Price May Reach 50000

Gold has endured a pullback after hitting record highs earlier this year, but mining investor Thomas Kaplan remains bullish, forecasting bullion to rise tenfold. The price of gold has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past few months, with a surge throughout 2025 seeing bullion reach all-time highs early in the new year, surpassing US$5400 per ounce by late January.

However, the joy of record highs turned to doubt as prices tumbled to about US$4000 at the tail end of June. A subsequent rally late last month had gold bugs bouncing again, before a pullback saw gold dip below US$4400 just this week. The up-and-down performance has left many in the sector wondering what comes next.

Optimistic Outlook

Opinions vary, but it would be hard to find a more optimistic long-term outlook than the one presented by Thomas Kaplan. “Seeing gold go up another tenfold from here, to me is not just likely, but inevitable,” he recently told Kitco News. “I can see gold going to 30, 40, 50,000 dollars without a problem.”

Kaplan’s view might sound a little over the top, but a bullish outlook for the precious metal is nothing new for the billionaire investor. In May 2019, when gold was trading below US$1300 an ounce, Kaplan was already seeing significant upside. “I do believe gold embarks upon the next leg of its bull market and goes past $1900 and ultimately, $3000 to $5000, if not a lot higher,” he told Bloomberg Television at the time. His upbeat prediction proved to be spot on.

Historical Precedents

Who Is Thomas Kaplan?

Thomas Kaplan is the chairman and chief investment officer of The Electrum Group, a New York-based investment, advisory and asset management firm with a focus on the natural resources sector. He is also an Oxford-educated historian who applies his understanding of historical precedents to evaluate developing trends across financial markets. Kaplan has been investing in the resources space since the early 1990s and made precious metals the core of his family’s capital after selling an energy asset in 2007.

Kaplan is also chair of NOVAGOLD – a New York-listed developer advancing the Donlin gold project in Alaska. Donlin is one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold projects, with a resource totalling about 40Moz in the measured and indicated categories. NOVAGOLD is co-chaired by fellow billionaire investor and former hedge fund manager John Paulson.

Bullish Outlook

John Paulson Joins Bullish Crowd

John Paulson shifted his focus to gold in 2009 after successfully betting against subprime mortgages during the global financial crisis. Since then, gold prices have roughly quadrupled. And like Kaplan, Paulson sees plenty of upside ahead. “I do think we’re in the beginnings or the early stages of a long-term bull market for gold,” he said in July on CNBC’s The Exchange. “As people lose faith in paper currencies, gold as an alternative will continue to grow.”

Given the current market trends, it’s possible that Kaplan‘s forecast of US$30,000 to US$50,000 gold may not be as far-fetched as it seems. As investors continue to lose faith in traditional currencies, the demand for gold as a safe-haven asset could increase, driving up its price. Gold was trading at about US$4500 per ounce when Kaplan made his most recent call. His forecast of US$30,000 to US$50,000 gold may seem far-fetched from today’s viewpoint, but Kaplan has already shown a willingness to make big calls before they become part of the environment.

Australian Gold Explorers Make Waves

Meanwhile, some ASX-listed precious metals stocks have been performing well. First Au made waves across two fronts this week, beginning with a deal to acquire the Sandstone gold project in WA. The asset lies in the state’s renowned Sandstone district and includes five tenements covering parts of the Mayard and Crook Well greenstone belts.

The deal consists of a $350,000 exclusivity fee and $450,000 in First Au shares paid to the vendor, with another $150,000 deferred until a resource milestone is reached. It comes with a significant historical drilling database across the Harmonic and Creasy prospects, which lie within a continuous 3.5km stretch of the Mayard belt. First Au plans to launch a data validation program once the agreement is finalised. It believes the historical drilling and mineralisation info could facilitate a swift and cost-effective path to a maiden resource estimate.

Separately, First Au also locked in a potential processing pathway for its Gimlet gold project in WA through an ore purchase agreement with Forrestania Resources (ASX:FRS). The 24-month arrangement provides a framework for Forrestania to purchase suitable ore from Gimlet for processing, subject to its technical and commercial needs. Gimlet lies near Kalgoorlie and hosts a resource totalling about 113,000 ounces of contained gold. Access to established third-party infrastructure could help First Au reduce costs and timeframes that would otherwise be needed to build its own plant.

Leeuwin Metals Expands WA Footprint

Leeuwin Metals also rallied this week after moving to expand its WA gold exploration footprint. The company entered a deal with Mining Equities to acquire about 105km2 of ground across some of the state’s more productive greenstone belts. The landholdings comprise one granted exploration licence at Lake Johnston and two exploration licence applications at Marvel Loch and Forrestania.

The all-scrip deal will see Leeuwin Metals issue 350,000 shares and grant a 1% royalty to Mining Equities. The Marvel Loch tenure neighbours a gold mine of the same name in the Forrestania greenstone belt. This belt is one of WA’s most productive historical gold provinces and also hosts the Nevoria, Yilgarn Star, Transvaal and Cornishman gold deposits. The district around Marvel Loch has been in production for more than 130 years.

Leeuwin said the acquisition complemented its Marda gold project further to the north, where it has defined a resource containing nearly 380,000 ounces of gold. Lake Johnston is considered prospective for gold, nickel and lithium, providing Leeuwin with potential added exposure to critical minerals in the Forrestania and Lake Johnston belts. The agreement is expected to be wrapped up next week. Once the deal is concluded, Leeuwin plans to compile and validate historical exploration data before launching first-pass exploration across the new ground and its existing regional tenure.

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