REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees of
Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund:
In planning and performing our audit of
the financial statements of Franklin
Gold and Precious Metals Fund for the year ended
July, 31, 2000, we considered its internal
control, including controls over
safeguarding securities, in order to
determine our auditing procedures for the
purpose of expressing our opinion on the
financial statements and to comply with
the requirements of Form N-SAR, not to
provide assurance on internal control.
The management of Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund
is responsible for establishing
and maintaining internal control. In
fulfilling this responsibility, estimates
and judgments by management are required
to assess the expected benefits and related
costs of controls. Generally, controls
that are relevant to an audit pertain to
the entity's objective of preparing
financial statements for external purposes
that are fairly presented in conformity
with generally accepted accounting
principles. Those controls include the
safeguarding of assets against unauthorized
acquisition, use, or disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal
control, errors or irregularities may occur
and not be detected. Also, projection of
any evaluation of internal control to
future periods is subject to the risk that
it may become inadequate because of changes
in conditions or that the effectiveness of
the design and operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of internal control would
not necessarily disclose all matters in
internal control that might be material
weaknesses under standards established by
the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. A material weakness is a
condition in which the design or operation
of any specific internal control component
does not reduce to a relatively low level
the risk that errors or irregularities in
amounts that would be material in relation
to the financial statements being audited
may occur and not be detected within a
timely period by employees in the normal
course of performing their assigned
functions. However, we noted no matters
involving internal control, including
controls over safeguarding securities
that we consider to be material weaknesses
as defined above as of July 31, 2000.
This report is intended solely for the
information and use of management and the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
San Francisco, California
September 11, 2000
