Prices have climbed to a record high of $4,390 an ounce from $1,685 on Dec. 12, accelerating a rally that began in 2016, when iridium cost around $500 an ounce.
Facing a collapse in oil production and the effects of US sanctions, President Nicolas Maduro’s government has continued to use the sale of monetary gold as a source of income.
Guinean villagers in communities around the mine filed a complaint in 2019 alleging contraventions by miner Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée SA of its commitments around resettlement and pollution.