Wednesday, July 30, 2008

AngloGold to Post Loss on Quarter Ending June 30


AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., the largest gold producer in Africa, will probably post a loss of $3.43 (25.46 rand) for the quarter ending June 30, according to four analysts surveyed. Last quarter they posted 2.88 rand in earnings. They'll release their earnings on July 31.

In the second quarter the company suffered a $1.1 billion before tax loss after forward sales were cut by 39 percent in the first half. AngloGold has the largest hedge book (forward sales) of any gold producer in South Africa. If gold gains in price, the hedge increases along with losses.

Major rivals Gold Fields LTD and Harmony Gold Mining Co. are expected to post a profit for the quarter.

South African utility problems still continue to allow the mines to run at 90 percent of regular consumption.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The Luck of the Irish: A Million Ounces of Gold found under Small Village of Clontibret


In a formal statement to the London Stock Exchange, Conroy Diamonds and Gold, a mining company based in Dublin, Ireland, announced it has discovered about a million ounces of gold under the tiny village of Clontibret. It's reputed to be the largest gold find in British history.

The chairman of the company said, "There's never been a gold mine anywhere near this size in Ireland and the UK.

"The Company's exploration programme in Ireland is focussed on the Longford-Down Massif. The Company at an early stage recognized the significant gold potential of the Massif. It is engaged in active exploration there which has already led to the discovery of a series of gold targets along a 30 mile (50km) strike length stretching from County Armagh across to Counties Monaghan and Cavan.

"At the most advanced of these targets, Clontibret in County Monaghan, a mineral resource of over 1 million ounces of gold (Indicated 440,000 ounces, Inferred 590,000 ounces) has been estimated for an area representing less than 20 per cent of the target. Drilling has commenced in the remaining 80 per cent of the Clontibret target anomaly, which is expected to further increase this resource. This is the largest gold resource reported to date in Ireland or the UK."

Estimates of the value of the gold deposits were set at £450 million based on today’s gold price.

In other British gold news, the Cononish mine near Tyndrum, in Stirlingshire is scheduled to reopened after being shut down for ten years because of low gold prices. Now that the price of gold is sure to hold for some time, investors are reopening the mine, which has "an estimated £76m worth of gold and silver embedded in the quartz rock."