Jim Rogers: Prepare for the Collapse When the Fed Stops Printing Money

Gold prices have been tumbling.

But the ardent gold bulls have been hanging on.

The most popular argument that these gold bulls have clung to has been that mining costs will create a floor for gold prices.

The idea is that if gold continues to be below the cost of mining, then miners will stop mining and supply will disappear forcing gold prices up.

Peter Schiff made this argument late last month. And so did Art Cashin.

However, it’s not completely obvious that a mine would shut down just because the market price falls below cost.

Jim Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Holdings told Business Insider that the closing of gold mines is a way off:

“I’ve been in the investment world a long time and I know that things can stay below the cost of production for years. It takes a long time for people to believe they have to close their mines. It costs money to close a mine, it costs money to re-open a mine, so people are reluctant to close mines. So you can see any commodity staying below the cost of production for a while, especially if it’s something like a mine which is expensive to close, and expensive to open.”

Rogers is a long-term bull on gold but and doesn’t think the sell-off is over. He thinks gold prices have further to fall, and that gold is in the process of making a “complicated bottom.”

James Beeland Rogers, Jr. (born October 19, 1942) is an American investor and author. He is currently based in Singapore. Rogers is the Chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, Inc. He was the co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index (RICI).

Rogers does not consider himself a member of any school of economic thought, but has acknowledged that his views best fit the label of Austrian School of economics

“The world can get along without central banks. Fortunately, since they’re making so many mistakes, we’re going to get rid of them eventually.” – in Daily Reckoning

Related ETFs: SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE:GLD), iShares Silver Trust (ETF) (NYSE:SLV)

Jim Rogers is an author, financial commentator and successful international investor. He has been frequently featured in Time, The New York Times, Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and is a regular guest on Bloomberg and CNBC.

And from Barclays on Monday, Suki Cooper and other analysts note that gold has been failing to benefit from the violence in Egypt, though some safe-haven buying was going on Monday. Physical demand for gold is softer, says Cooper, and given the size of cash-negative exchange-traded products, gold prices are “more likely to endure further downside pressure in the near term,” according the Barclays strategist.

Oh and a further kick in the teeth for gold miners came from Citigroup. Here’s what Citi says, compliments of ZeroHedge: “[A] combination of rising unit costs (15% yoy), sustained high capital budgets and a falling gold price have resulted in a fast contraction in margins — so much that no gold company under out coverage will generate free cash flow at spot gold.”

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