The price of gold has reached a lifetime high of 930 dollars an ounce on fears that supplies are running low.
That's in part been fuelled by power cuts in South Africa which have forced the world's three largest gold-mining firms to shut down their operations.
The government's being blamed for ignoring warnings that record growth, and ageing infrastructure, would see the country's power run out.
Now the state power company, Eskom, is saying it will boost electricity supplies to the mines by up to 90 percent by the end of the week.
The World Cup football tournament kicks off in one week, and host South Africa is busy putting on the finishing touches. But not everyone is looking forward to the tournament. Authorites in cities including Cape Town are being accused of clearing the poor from the streets - to create a good impression for visiting fans. Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa has more.