GLOBAL – The World Gold Council (WGC) has appointed The President and CEO of streaming company Wheaton Precious Metals president as its new chairperson.

Smallwood is replacing former AngloGold Ashanti CEO Kelvin Dushnisky, who recently stepped down as CEO of AngloGold and thus unfit to continue running the affairs of the global body for the gold industry.

His appointment comes at a time when Gold is experiencing renew interest from investors who have rushed to acquire the metal as a safe haven for their investments during the economic volatility occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The increased demand for Gold pushed the prices of to all time highs this year.

Gold surpassed the 2000/oz mark for the first time in history in August 5 this year.

This was a 33 percent rise when compared to the prices of 1520.55/oz recorded at the start of the year.

Prices of the commodity have since tumbled to US$1935/oz due to the hopes of a recovering American economy.

The continued persistence of the Covid-19 pandemic is however, expected to maintain the gold prices at the price range of 1900 through out the year.

Commenting on his appointment, Smallwood said that he was looking forward to work with WGC CEO David Tait and the team to advance the work of the council and to deliver industry-leading standards that help set the bar.

“I am honoured to represent the World Gold Council as its new chair, especially in these times when the importance of gold is becoming ever more apparent,” Smallwood said.

He further noted that there is no better industry body to advocate the case for gold than the World Gold Council.

He added that the WGC has worked tirelessly to grow gold’s recognition as an essential allocation within any investment portfolio, while at the same time nurturing the more traditional demand segments.

Since 2014, Wheaton has been a member of the WGC, which includes the world’s leading gold mining companies.

The council is the market development organisation for the gold industry and has a mandate of stimulating and sustaining demand for gold.

It also exists to provide industry leadership and be the global authority on the gold market.

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