1. Victoria Gold Corporation is taken over after the Eagle gold mine heap leach pad incident.

Victoria Gold Corporation entered bankruptcy management after a heap leach pad failure at its Eagle gold mine in Yukon, Canada, which was one of the most impactful events in the gold industry in 2024.

The incident in June had serious environmental impacts, with local waterways detecting cyanide contamination and reports of fish deaths.

The traditional territory of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation criticized Victoria Gold Corporation's cleanup efforts, demanding an end to all mining activities in the area. The Yukon government also took legal action, citing Victoria Gold Corporation's noncompliance with directives as a reason for requiring control over environmental mitigation measures.

Ultimately, an Ontario court approved the takeover in August, with PwC becoming the receiver and manager of Victoria Gold Corporation's assets. The company is currently overseeing the cleanup efforts.

On December 9, Ontario Superior Court Judge Barbara Conway approved an increase in the takeover budget by 55 million USD, bringing the total to 0.105 billion USD, to fund environmental mitigation work, which will last until March of next year.

In addition, PwC has also received greater authorization to sell non-core Assets and appoint technical advisors, further consolidating its role in the aftermath management of this environmental disaster.

Goldman Sachs is Bullish on Commodities, forecasting higher prices for Gold and Copper in 2024.

In late March, Goldman Sachs released its outlook for commodities in 2024, believing that strong structural and cyclical demand is the main driving force behind positive market expectations.

This American investment bank predicts that by the end of this year, raw materials will yield a 15% ROI, particularly Bullish on Gold and Copper.

Analysts forecast that supported by expectations of interest rate cuts in the USA and Europe, Gold prices will reach 2,300 USD per ounce by the end of this year, while Copper prices will exceed 10,000 USD per ton. Gold and Copper have already performed strongly in the first quarter, breaching these targets in April and May respectively.

Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its Bullish stance in September, raising its Gold price target to 2,700 USD per ounce by early 2025. This optimism stems from demand from central Banks and expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

On October 30, Gold reached a peak of 2,788 USD per ounce, and a day earlier, the analysis company predicted that Gold prices would reach 3,000 USD per ounce by the end of 2025.

However, after that, Gold experienced fluctuations, falling due to factors such as the USA election on November 5 and the Federal Reserve's announcement of a gradual interest rate cut in 2025 on December 18. After the Federal Reserve's statement, the spot gold price dropped by more than 2% to $2585 per ounce, as the market was concerned about inflation and monetary policy tightening under Trump's new government.

The average gold price in 2024 will reach $2250, setting a new record.

The independent consulting company Metals Focus predicted in its annual 'Gold Focus' report released in June that the average gold price in 2024 will reach $2250 per ounce, setting a new record for the average gold price.

The report emphasized the main driving factors for gold performance, including the imminent USA debt issue, the controversial election season, and the uncertainty of economic recovery.

Central bank demand, led by Turkey, China, and India, remains strong, driving up gold's upward momentum. Geopolitical risks, particularly in the Middle East, have also boosted investor sentiment.

It is well-known that gold experienced a historic rise in 2024. That year, the dollar-priced gold set 39 historical highs, the most for a year in 45 years. The most recent high was on October 30, with the gold price closing at $2788.54 per ounce.

Ultimately, the average gold price in 2024 was far above Metals Focus's bullish prediction. As of December 30, the average closing price of spot gold in 2024 was $2388.09, a 26.5% increase from the average closing price of $1943 in 2023.

4. Gold from Canada's largest robbery was smuggled to India and Dubai.

On July 8, 2024, news media reported the latest developments in the April 2023 theft of 400 kilograms of Gold at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

At that time, Canadian police disclosed that they believed a significant portion of the Gold was smuggled to India and Dubai. Peel police identified these destinations as major markets for illegal Gold, where it can be melted down and re-enter the Global supply chain.

This batch of Gold was worth over 20 million Canadian dollars at the time of the theft and was part of a shipment sent from Zurich, Switzerland to a refinery in Canada.

Subsequently, this theft has been referred to as Canada's largest and the sixth largest Gold theft in the world.

Currently, nine individuals have been arrested on suspicion of theft, and the suspects face over 19 charges. Police reported that the suspects used a 5-ton truck and rudimentary melting equipment to transport and process the stolen Gold.

Although there has not been much news since, Air Canada and the transportation security company Brinks have been involved in a lawsuit, debating who is at fault and who should bear the costs of the lost Gold.

5. NYSE technical failure causes stocks like Barrick Gold to drop as much as 99%.

On June 3, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) resolved a technical issue that caused misleading Quotes for about 50 companies listed on the exchange, including Barrick Gold and Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

This issue originated from the Exchange's Limit Up Limit Down (LULD) band malfunction, which is designed to curb extreme market fluctuations by preventing trades outside the predetermined price range.

As a result, some stocks experienced nearly 100% losses during the morning trading session. The NYSE ultimately resolved this malfunction, and trading for these companies resumed normally after a brief pause of about 30 minutes.

Although the incident was quickly resolved, it had some effects, as stock traders placed buy orders at the lowest price during the trading halt, and when trading resumed, they were filled at the stock's normal price or higher.

For example, according to Reuters, Interactive Brokers' clients placed orders to buy Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares at $185, but the fill price reached as high as $741,971, over $100,000 higher than the price before the malfunction. The company compensated the clients for their losses, which amounted to 48 million dollars. The Exchange denied Interactive Brokers' request to cancel the trades completed at the 'abnormally' high prices.