Risk Adjusted Evaluation of Mineral Assets Using Transaction Based Statistical Models

Abstract

This thesis addresses “how the characteristics of gold deposit transactions affect their price” through investigation of four hypotheses related to risks that often affect price: ownership, commodity price, certainty and country-risk. An empirical approach based on geostatistical methods is used to determine the behaviour of gold deposit prices in response to the risks. The results identify differences between security and asset price behaviour, as well as challenge the validity of accepted pricing methods and assumptions.