With the precious metals market ranking among the hottest sectors on Wall Street, Canadian mining company B2Gold Corp (NYSEAMERICAN: BTG) is understandably having its moment. At the same time, the tremendous performance raises serious questions. Since the start of the year, BTG stock has more than doubled in value. Most of that upswing came in the trailing six months, with BTG gaining nearly 74%. Of course, bag-holding concerns dominate discussions.
Fundamentally, though, circumstances do appear net favorable for gold. Earlier today, the precious metal surged to $3,800 per troy ounce, sending the market value of U.S. gold reserves past the $1 trillion mark. Interestingly, the federal government still values its reserves at $42.22 per ounce — a price set by Congress in 1973. That would amount to a total of only $11.04 billion on paper.
