The West African gold rush is heating up

West Africa is currently the 'destination of choice' for gold miners, says Tom Bulford. Here, he picks the best ways to buy into the region's gold rush.

When notorious American thief Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks he replied "Because that is where the money is". Similarly, if you were to ask mining executives why they are heading to West Africa and they might equally reply "Because that is where the gold is". In a recent report, natural resource broker Old Park Lane Capital describes West Africa as the "destination of choice in the gold space". But the report also reveals that, as Willie Sutton could have told today's gold explorers, you cannot make easy money without bearing a bit of risk.

I'll come to those risks, and also to Old Park Lane's preferred West African gold picks in a moment. But why is this region, stretching from Sierra Leone to Ghana, becoming such a hotbed of activity? Its promise lies in its geology. Of particular importance is the Paleoproterozoic Birmian granite-greenstone terrain this is the dominant source of gold in West Africa.

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Tom worked as a fund manager in the City of London and in Hong Kong for over 20 years. As a director with Schroder Investment Management International he was responsible for £2 billion of foreign clients' money, and launched what became Argentina's largest mutual fund. Now working from his home in Oxfordshire, Tom Bulford helps private investors with his premium tipping newsletter, Red Hot Biotech Alert.