Boddington versus the rest
February 9 - 15, 2010
IT’S not every year that a million ounce gold mine opens in Australia. In fact, the list of million ounce-ish producers around the world is rather short and Boddington will be Australia’s biggest mine. So how does Newmont’s brand new Boddington mine stack up against some of the other 1Moz plus mega mines in the world?
Lower gold price won't see Boddington unplugged: O'Brien
February 9 - 15, 2010
A BROWNFIELDS site in the middle of a state forest, boasting incredibly hard rocks and a low grade resource, may not be the most prepossessing starter kit for Australia’s largest gold mine.
London ready for Barrick Africa
March 9 - 15, 2010
THE impending listing of Barrick Gold’s African assets on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will continue to shine a light on London’s emerging gold sector, but the new kid on the block has the potential to put a couple of noses out of joint, namely its closest LSE peers: Randgold Resources and Petropavlovsk.
Boardroom chat
March 9 - 15, 2010
LAST time HighGrade caught up with Catalpa Resources chief Bruce McFadzean was on a post Diggers & Dealers 09 visit to the company’s Edna May gold project in Western Australia. He spoke of being focused on keeping the balls he was juggling in the air: new gold mine, merger, and potential acquisitions. Six months later we’re in the Catalpa boardroom. McFadzean is showing no signs of fatigue despite just returning from a hectic two-week investor roadshow to Europe and the US.
A line in the sand for Citigold
March 9 - 15, 2010
THINGS will be different from now on. That’s the message Citigold managing director Mark Lynch is trying to get across to investors after the company signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese group to develop part of its Charters Towers assets as part of a broader plan to turn the project’s performance around.
Market tires of safe Dominion
March 2 - 8, 2010
AS DOMINION Mining slides down the value scale managing director Jonathan Shellabear agrees something needs to be done. However, to date the obvious solutions have proved rather difficult to achieve.
HPGRs to Tropicana too
March 2 - 8, 2010
ANGLOGOLD Ashanti will be closely watching progress at the newly opened Boddington gold mine, not only because it once owned half the project, but also to see how Newmont Mining goes with its high pressure grinding roll comminution circuit and how the technology could be applied at its Tropicana project.
Newcrest eyeing Lihir
March 2 - 8, 2010
FEBRUARY 26: FRUSTRATED brokers have been urging Newcrest to dive into the mergers and acquisition pool for years to bolster its production profile. The soft share price of Lihir Gold in the wake of the Ballarat debacle may be enough of an enticement for Newcrest to make its first takeover move since 1995.
West Australia vs West Africa
February 23 - March 1, 2010
JUST because the great West African gold rush is now attracting every second two-bit junior that 12 months ago was chasing some other commodity in some other jurisdiction, doesn’t mean Australia has overnight lost its gold prospectivity. And with Dioro now in the bag for Avoca, Rohan Williams and his geological team aim to prove it.
Gold One's time coming
February 16 - 22, 2010
SOUTH African gold miner Gold One hasn’t received much love since the merger of Australian BMA Gold and South African Aflease Gold a year ago, but analysts at Hartley’s Research think the company has a lot of upside to offer local investors.
Vatukoula's about face
February 16 - 22, 2010
THINK of Fiji. You’ve probably conjured a postcard of beaches, bikinis and cocktails. These treasures entice more than half-a-million people to the islands each year but they’re not the lure for former mining analyst now company director, David Paxton, who’s come to Fiji for the country’s other great treasure – gold.
Province-scale growth opportunities for Newcrest
February 16 - 22, 2010
NEWCREST Mining’s outstanding growth potential, particularly in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, was the story from last week’s presentation in Melbourne by management of the routinely lauded gold (and copper) company.
Citi goes around the gold block; likes offshore view
February 9 - 15, 2010
MORE proof of the dearth of promising gold stories located in Australia can be found in recent analysis of the Australian junior gold sector that listed Medusa Mining and OceanaGold as the two preferred stocks in terms of market potential. However, others might query whether the analysis was a tad limited in scope.
School of hard rocks
February 9 - 15, 2010
ROCK hardness and low grades are two of the big challenges facing Newmont Mining’s Boddington restart, its ongoing mine life and cost control. Newmont has chosen to tackle the first through implementing technological solutions, primarily high pressure grinding rolls, and the second through sheer scale.
Tanami moves into its field of dreams
February 2 - 8, 2010
THE spotlight on expansion by Australia’s small gold producers has burned brightly on Kalgoorlie but Tanami Gold has now put its best foot forward to the north with its deal to buy Groundrush from Newmont for $A22 million. Another $30-40 million of outlay may well be enough to see it graduate into a two-mine producer of 200,000oz a year within two years.
Back to the future for Newcrest
February 2 - 8, 2010
THE first decade of the 21st century was a good one for shareholders in Newcrest Mining who will be now looking for the next uplift in the stock after a couple of relatively flat years on the market.
Saracen puts life back into Carosue Dam
February 2 - 8, 2010
FIRST gold pours always bring with them a rightful sense of achievement, but too often the high wears off when the hard slog of mining sets in. For Saracen Mineral Holdings the resurrection of Carosue Dam is the culmination of four years’ work and the company is determined not to be another failed gold play.
St Barbara's uphill push
January 26 - February 1, 2010
SIX months into its three year plan to turn its operations around, St Barbara’s production is meeting guidance and its cash costs are falling. But the gold miner is facing legal battles and there is plenty of work to be done in getting to its 2014 goal of being a half a million ounce producer.
Cortona on track for 2011
January 26 - February 1, 2010
WHEN Cortona Resources flagged a problem with a $A10.3 million capital raising earlier this month it seemed like the small gold play had hit a not inconsequential snag. But the raising is now bedded down, a definitive feasibility study underway and four drill rigs are about to start work at Majors Creek.
Bibby brings new view of gold mining process
January 19 - 25, 2010
BEING only a few months into the role of CEO of OceanaGold means Paul Bibby isn’t yet ready to map out a grand vision of the future for the mainly New Zealand-based gold miner. But there is a sense that over time this rather low profile company could seriously surprise on the upside – and a reserve increase of more than 750,000 ounces in the past month at the Macraes operation stands as exhibit one.
Ramelius riding high on galloping grade
January 19 - 25, 2010
RAMELIUS Resources has started mining “high grade” stope ore at Wattle Dam, on the WA goldfields takeover battlefront, which is just as well because its development dirt was only grading 40.88 grams per tonne in the December quarter. Ramelius boss Ian Gordon is ready with an equally cool response to questions about where the company might divert its growing bank balance if it walks away from Dioro.
Focus shifts to exploration
December 21 - 27, 2009
CAMPBELL Baird would like to jump ahead 12 months, not in a late-2008-get-me-the-hell-out-of-here sort of way, and not that he’s writing off 2010. Far from it. It’s just that the Focus Minerals CEO, naturally, is in a hurry to put Coolgardie back on the map and next year will only remind people it’s an area with loads of potential.
A facelift for a plum old tart
December 21 - 27, 2009
DECEMBER 14: AS erratic as the local geology can be, the Norseman gold field some 180km south of Kalgoorlie has been a remarkably consistent and reliable gold producer for decades. That projects the modus operandi of Barry Cahill and Norseman Gold perfectly. “We poured gold last week, we’re pouring this week, and we’ll pour next week,” he says.
Avoca chief lays out vision, with a few distractions
December 7 - 13, 2009
NOVEMBER 30: BACK in Perth for Avoca Resources’ AGM after a three week road show tour through Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, managing director Rohan Williams was still brimful of energy and enthusiasm for the story he’d obviously told many times in the previous 20 days, and for tackling at least four immediate tasks. Two will determine the shape of the company a year from now.
Bankers ready to back Certej, Skouries
November 9 - 15, 2009
WHAT a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago we were in the pit of the global economic crisis and the last thing on the minds of the banks, many in survival mode, was funding new resource projects that planned to supply commodities nobody wanted. Today, European Goldfields is talking finance with a selection of interested institutions and the mining company is not just negotiating terms, it’s dictating them.
London paved in gold
November 2 - 8, 2009
THE latest in a string of announcements from a junior AIM-listed producer has highlighted the re-emergence of an animal many thought extinct – the London gold sector.
Parker back home and on song again
October 26 - November 1, 2009
GOLD and coal aren’t two sectors that often mix but money talks and Jon Parker’s success in growing Felix Coal from a $A17 million junior to a $A500 million company in four-and-a-half years means his oft-stated bullish ambitions at Norton Gold Fields can’t be dismissed as marketing hyperbole.
Bait not big enough for gold majors
October 19 - 25, 2009
OCT 12: JUNIOR gold players with overinflated views of themselves combined with a lack of truly world class projects capable of tempting the majors into acquisitions has left the mid-tier sector as the only gold space in which mergers are likely in the near-term.
Climbing gold price adds to arm wrestle
October 12 - 18, 2009
THERE will be no let-up in the struggle for half of the plum Frog’s Leg gold mine near Kalgoorlie, but nor will the combatants, Ramelius Resources and Avoca Resources, allow the fight to degenerate into a pointless deadlock. That’s the view of Ramelius managing director Ian Gordon, anyway.
SLR is measuring up, says Davis
October 12 - 18, 2009
HAVING decided what they want most right now is more evidence of Daisy Milano-type riches beneath the shallow gold deposits that underpin much of the existing “potential” at Mount Monger, backers of Silver Lake Resources will be poring over drill results in coming months. For his part, SLR boss Les Davis is keen to see his exploration team deliver on promises. Chris Banasik, welcome home!
Gold price can only add to Avoca lustre
October 5 - 11, 2009
AVOCA Resources hasn’t exactly set the market alight in recent weeks despite appearing to be clearly one of the better quality stocks on offer during what should be halcyon days for high margin, unhedged gold producers.
Will we see Apex rise again? Possibly ...
October 5 - 11, 2009
MARK Ashley built a fine reputation in the Australian resources sector after the outstanding success he helped create and oversee at LionOre Mining. However, it is clear he is now in a huge battle to retain that corporate credibility at Apex Mining.
China deal nets high price
September 28 - October 4, 2009
LEYSHON Resources’ proposed sale of its gold project in China is set to achieve a significantly better price per ounce of resource sold than a bunch of other recent transactions in the gold world.
Edna may over-deliver
September 28 - October 4, 2009
BRUCE McFadzean is happy to have people poking around in his basement, digging out old records, and pointing to the potential for Catalpa Resources’ Edna May gold mine to perform better than expected when it’s brought back to life next year. But he's not about to change his tune at this stage: “we have a philosophy of under-promising and over-delivering!”
Cold shower anyone?
September 21 - 27, 2009
THOSE who believe the most interesting and innovative periods in business occur when times are tough won’t have been surprised by the news coming out of the Denver gold conference last week.
Mine funds to boost district search
September 21 - 27, 2009
ASX-LISTED gold junior Cortona Resources expects to generate nearly $A70 million at current gold prices from a $A30 million small-scale underground mine and plant at Dargues Reef in New South Wales, providing funds for ongoing exploration in the prospective district.
Gold potential? RBC knows the score
September 14 - 20, 2009
‘LIKE comparing apples to oranges’, is a criticism often levelled by those companies rendered lemons when unfavourable comparisons are made. However, investors seeking to improve the veracity of such comparisons now have another simple tool to help them in their quest to find the next under-valued Goldcorp or similar such.
Baird signals a change in Focus
September 7 - 13, 2009
A HIGHER gold price environment has the ASX-listed gold junior Focus Minerals and its CEO daring to dream about a brighter future for Coolgardie, Western Australia’s quintessential boom-bust mining town. But it is the focus on reshaping the cost profile of gold production in the district that will determine the reality.
More Tasmanian gold up for grabs
August 31 - September 6, 2009
BENDIGO Mining is saying precisely naught at this stage as major Beaconsfield Gold shareholder Malaysia Smelting Corp (MSC) puts its 22.1% stake in the Australian gold miner up for sale.
Huffing and puffing
August 31 - September 6, 2009
CHRIS Cairns has been telling Integra Mining investors about the story of the three little mining companies, the smart little piggy building a robust gold house on solid footings east of Kalgoorlie, and about leaving the door open to the right Kalgoorlie neighbour. Of course, he’s also the little piggy about to go to market.
Base over Apex
August 31 - September 6, 2009
APEX Minerals managing director Mark Ashley was keen to be part of the local gold sector consolidation talk in Kalgoorlie recently. But how should such talk be viewed now – is it just a distraction from the company’s production problems at Wiluna, or are these words of desperation?
Gold-plated raider at the north gate
August 24 - 30, 2009
AUSTRALIAN gold juniors looking for some inspiration in their quest to be the next big – well mid-size – thing in the Australian gold sector would have found some at the Paydirt 2009 Victoria Resources Conference last week. Canadian-listed Northgate Minerals Corporation is showing the way, but might also show up at their door.
Cortona to drill on at Majors Creek
August 24 - 30, 2009
“NOT in the immediate future”, are perhaps not the words Cortona Resources shareholders want to hear in response to a question about a resource upgrade at the company’s Majors Creek gold project in New South Wales.
Meeting of mines must wait
August 24 - 30, 2009
ROHAN Williams might feel content. The Avoca Resources chief can afford to be patient and perhaps channel some pent-up energy toward La Mancha Resources. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t frustrated at key obstacles he knew would slow down attempts to get a new mid-tier Kalgoorlie-focused Australian gold company into investors’ sights. The barriers: egos and the illusion of a vibrant local gold sector created by a resilient gold price.
Newcrest to up drilling intensity
August 17 - 23, 2009
DRILLERS and tungsten producers have got some common ground given the use of the latter’s commodity in the former’s drill bits, and both are evidently in the firing line of Newcrest Mining based on the tone and comments of that company’s CEO, the extremely dry Ian Smith.
Making the grade
August 10 - 16, 2009
IN HIS first week in the job as CEO of St Barbara Tim Lehany left a site visit to the company’s Gwalia underground mine near Leonora impressed with the way the deep mine had been set up and was behaving. It’s fair to say he was less satisfied with the company’s Southern Cross operations.
Paper, scissors, rock
October 20 - 26, 2008
THE game is simple. One, two, three – paper beats rock. Paper always beats rock. The veracity of the futures market, however, as a mechanism for price discovery is floundering beneath the weight of the growing disconnect between the paper and physical markets. “There are no markets anymore, just interventions,” says Chris Powell.
Lots of shouting at the fork in the road
September 15 - 21, 2008
THIS WEEK’S Excellence in Mining and Exploration conference in Sydney highlighted the salient fact that base and precious metals are at a crossroads. Here we find many confused individuals wondering which way to turn next.
Critic wary of Perth Mint swindle
August 25 - 31, 2008
WIDESPREAD reports of physical bullion shortages have shone a bright light upon the veracity of pool, certificate and unallocated gold and silver storage accounts. Are they backed by metal? Claim and counter claim, like a Grand Slam tennis match, volley back and forth across the internet. In Western Australia, conjecture about the Perth Mint Certificate Program invariably ensures that its unallocated storage account is centre court.
Aussie takes charge of African lion
August 4 - 10, 2008
ANGLOGOLD Ashanti (AGA) has been seen as a pretender to the throne in the world gold mining industry. But that view may be changing rapidly thanks to one man.
AngloGold Ashanti CEO Mark Cutifani’s views on ...
August 4 - 10, 2008
NO SIGNIFICANT new gold discoveries in the past five years: I did hear someone say earlier this week that there hadn’t been a significant resource discovery in the industry for the past five years. I’m not sure where they’ve been ...
Why gold bugs love silver
August 4 - 10, 2008
SILVER was the shooting star, the brilliant white light which soared in a parabolic move to $US50 on January 21, 1980. Legend has it that it flamed out and fell to earth, a humble industrial metal. It appeared that the lustre of silver as an investment asset was eternally tarnished.
Barrick cheers for change
August 4 - 10, 2008
ONE company taking a close look at Rio Tinto’s centralised remote operations control model is Barrick Gold Corporation, which claims to be on track to achieve “significant cost reductions” from a test program taking in its Darlot, Lawlers and Granny Smith operations in Western Australia.
Beyond the Gold Standard: a whimsical look at Middle America
July 28 - August 3, 2008
THERE is nothing new under the sun. Political acts of folly recur through the ages, none more so than the inevitable resort to the printing press and abuse of privilege. Our story begins on August 15, 1971.
Barking dogs really bug me
July 14 - 20, 2008
IVANHOE Mines boss Robert Friedland barking like a dog must have created amusement at the recent World Mining Investment Congress in London. It’s not the first time, though, the magnate’s howling and yelping has been directed at gold.
Will there be another Goldcorp Challenge?
March 10 - 16, 2008
ONE THING many people who remember the Goldcorp Challenge can agree on is that the concept’s author, Rob McEwen, is a unique individual, which might also be the best explanation as to why the $US575,000 “competition” to find six million ounces of gold at Goldcorp’s Red Lake mine in north eastern Ontario, Canada, hasn’t been repeated.
Barrick deal points to underlying value
October 29 - November 4, 2007
A HIGH-GRADE gold mine in a highly prized exploration district, and a gold price seemingly heading further north. That was the nightmare scenario confronting John Gooding back in May this year. Of course, as we now know, things could have been worse.