Surging gold prices boost activity of firms in area

In the past year Tony Mitchell, owner of Silver State Coin and Bullion on First Street in downtown Reno, has seen his customer numbers triple as gold prices skyrocketed to near all-time highs, closing recently at 28-year high of $841 an ounce.

Mitchell doubled his staff to five full-time and one part-time employee to handle the influx of customers cashing in the gold they've been hoarding, as well as those looking to invest some of their money in gold due to the dollar's sagging strength against international currencies.

"People are always buying and selling the stuff," Mitchell says. "Now that the price has gone over $800 again, we are seeing a whole ton of it. Often people have owned it since 1980 and now they can get out. That number has seemed to create a whole lot of activity."

The effects of high prices ripples across a wide range of businesses.

With the run in gold, mining companies are trying to extract as much gold as possible from their operations. Just Refiners USA in Sparks processes spent material and refinery slags from mine operations for the little precious metals locked inside.

Robert Hrenko, sales and marketing manager, says Just Refiners' business has nearly doubled this year because of salvaging by large mine operators such as Newmont Mining Company and Barrick Gold. Once-shuttered mine sites, such as the Hycroft Mine near Winnemucca, are being reopened, and Hrenko has also seen an increase in mom-n-pop companies developing small mines.

"Having gold where it is at is making a lot of people make moves they would not have done six months ago," Hrenko says. "It puts some excitement in the air."

Silver State's Mitchell says as the dollar continues to tank, many of his newer customers are younger people seeking to shield their money.

"It's almost like having a changing of the guard," he says. "A lot of people selling are older folks, but the new guard is 40-year-old guys and gals who are not so certain about their big investments in real estate and the stock market. They are certain the dollar is in trouble and their purchasing power is going downhill every day. They want something they think will have the opposite effect."

Mark Schmidt, store manager with Carson Jewelry and Loan in Carson City, says the store hasn't seen much increase in customers selling gold jewelry that end of the business stays fairly constant but revenues have spiked due to more customers purchasing gold jewelry at pawn shop prices.

"Basically for me to go out and buy gold is $44 per gram wholesale, and a lot of our inventory is priced at $20 to $30 per gram," he says. "Our sales have significant increased as far as people looking to buy refurbished jewelry."

Most businesses associated with gold are enjoying record activity as the metal nears the all-time high of $850 an ounce, set January 21, 1980. Not everyone is buying gold, however; some still choose to find flakes of the shiny yellow stuff in streams and hillsides.

Darryl Nelson, who has owned Reno Prospecting Supply on Claremont Street for more than 24 years, says many of his regular clients now are reaping the rewards of years of panning and hoarding.

"The gold they kept and mined over the years has now doubled on them," Nelson says. "But if you talk to the average person on the street, they don't know gold is at historic prices, highs we haven't seen since 1980. People are unaware gold has taken this tremendous movement."

Nelson says the first rule of mining is that the more you move the more you get, but no matter if you move a shovel full or a ton, you'll still end up with a pan in your hands to see what you've turned up. Since the metal began its rapid rise Nelson has set up many greenhorn panners with big dreams.