NovaGold (AMEX:NG), Eldorado (NYSE:EG), Ivanhoe (NYSE:IVN), Gammon Gold (NYSE:GRS) Crushed as Gold Prices Plunge

With the gold sector poised for a correction and the rise in the U.S. dollar in response to comments by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, along with China's decision to raise interest rates, provided the impetus for a sharp drop in gold prices, which embraced gold miners like NovaGold (AMEX:NG), Eldorado (NYSE:EG), Ivanhoe (NYSE:IVN) and Gammon Gold (NYSE:GRS).

Speculators and traders have been waiting for the type of news that would slow down the unprecedented rise in gold prices, and that happened, pushing gold prices down and along with it the broader gold market.

While the major gold miners like Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) and Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) all dropped by over 4 percent Tuesday, smaller miners like those mentioned above, expectedly, fell by even more, with the exception of Ivanhoe.

Eldorado closed at $17.02, falling $1.01, or 5.60 percent. Ivanhoe Mines ended Tuesday's session at $22.85, losing $1.10, or 4.59 percent. Gammon, the smallest of this bunch, dropped to $6.80, falling $0.39, or 5.42 percent. NovaGold was off the most as measured by percentages, closing at $8.61, shedding $0.70, or 7.52 percent.