Legislation & Regulation
Legislative and Regulatory Update
December 2021 by Scott Harn
• Big banks penalized for rigging gold price
Major banks have agreed to pay a total of $152 million to settle a class-action settlement that accused them of rigging the price of gold through the daily London gold price fix.
Eighteen lawsuits were consolidated in 2014, and the plaintiffs included Barclays, Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotia Bank), Société Générale, London Gold Market Fixing Limited, Deutsche Bank, UBS and HSBC. (Charges against UBS bank were dismissed in 2016 for a “lack of evidence.”)
All were members of the London Bullion Market Association.
Barclays, Scotia Bank, Société Générale and London Gold Market Fixing Limited were the last to agree to the settlement in mid-November, 2021.
The amount of the settlement pales in comparison to the profits these major banks reaped in futures gold contracts over the ten-year period when they were accused of artificially suppressing gold prices stated Ronan Manly, a precious metals analyst with BullionStar.
These latest settlements are on top of major fines already paid by Scotia Bank ($127 million) and JP Morgan Chase ($920 million).
The best news is that it will be much more difficult for the big banks to conspire to suppress the price of gold in the future because of the risk of a more severe punishment. I would expect to see gold prices increase as a result, which bodes well for all mining companies and individual miners.
• Mining royalties excluded from reconciliation bill
A proposal to charge royalties for extraction of gold and other precious metals was removed from the House reconciliation bill referred to as “Build Back Better” by the current administration before it was passed by the House.
Rep. Grivalja (D-New Mexico) had included an 8% royalty on new mines and a 4% royalty on existing mines, and another seven cents “reclamation fee” on every ton of material moved, which included overburden.
Comments Needed On Pebble Project Draft EIS
If you do not have the time to read the entire document, I would suggest starting with the Executive Summary that begins on page 80.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
- PLF sues over critical habitat
- Attorney General ends EPA slush fund
Legislative and Regulatory Update
- Reminder: Annual claim fees due September 1, 2017
- Update on California suction gold dredging
Legislative and Regulatory Update
- NEPA comments due
- Update on latest US Supreme Court suction gold dredging appeal
- Washington State tries to restrict suction gold dredging
Legislative and Regulatory Update
PLP To Address Needs Of Small Miners With Proposed Amendment
The Senator’s office was very receptive to the small miner’s plight and was unaware of the dire problems created by the over-regulation of small-scale mining from so many different fronts. It was pointed out that S 145 may help the large mining companies a little, but falls woefully short in addressing the needs of small operators who make up 85% of domestic mines.
Government Takes Land for Open Space
Rather than using the practice of government seizure of private property to promote economic development, the county is using it to preserve open space.
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