Today when things go sideways, they truly go sideways! Technology is great until it’s not.

In days gone by people would build a big fire, put there rocks with gold in a big pot and wait for the gold to melt out. Of course, it was a little more complicated than that, but it was much simpler to refine gold than the process we have today. The supply chain to get gold from one location to the next was less complicated and required a lot less technology as well. Everything today is far more complex than days gone by.

Over the past few days the entire the precious metals markets has completed changed. These changes are not likely to revert in any short order. We have three of the top gold refineries in the world completely shuttered, there is a fourth gold refinery, Rand, while not shut down it has cut production by close to half. This means instead of the world processing gold coming from the mines and your grandparents gold that is being recycled is currently not being refined. The U.S. Mint is sold out of bullion product, the Royal Canadian Mint is sold out of bullion product and most of the wholesalers / authorized purchasers of Mint products are sold out.

If you combine the worlds largest refineries being shuttered, the largest mints sold out and the fact that the mining industry has been under severe pressure for the last decade the gold market could change completely, and permanently, over the course of the next couple of weeks. This is not hyperbole, this is a reality.

The conversation that began with James Anderson – Shattered! – Silver, Gold – Precious Metals Supply Chain Disrupted for 2-3 Weeks / Longer and continued with Alasdair Macleod – Missed Payments In Production Chains Will Collapse System: Alasdair Macleod takes another step to ensure you have the best possible information in these troubling times.

Alasdair Macleod, Head of Research for Gold Money, agreed to continue our conversation from Friday and we turned our sights to gold, the gold market and where this whole thing may be headed. With Mr. Macleod’s years of analysis and research we believe he is one the best to be found anywhere.

Today is a test