31 March 2013
Berita Semasa 31 Mac 2013 ...
Ghana Gold production climbs 17% in 2012
Production climbed to 4.2 million ounces from 3.6 million ounces in 2011, The 2012 figure beats the commission's forecast of 3.9 million ounces.
Africa's second largest gold producer Ghana announced a 17 percent increase in gold production last year.
According to Ghana Minerals Commission,the increase in output was mainly due to risisng prices that encouraged higher output by companies.
Gold prices averaged $1,668 an ounce in 2012 from $1,572 an ounce a year earlier. Production climbed to 4.2 million ounces from 3.6 million ounces in 2011, The 2012 figure beats the commission’s forecast of 3.9 million ounces.
Australian miner Adamus Resources poured its first gold in January last year. Newmont’s second gold mine at Akyem, located about 125 kilometres (80 miles) northwest of Accra is expected to start commercial production in 2013 with as much as 450,000 ounces annually.
Bauxite rose to 662,925 metric tons in 2012 from 410,918 tons a year earlier, Diamond output fell to 215,118 carats from 283,368 carat.
Johannesburg-based miners AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and Gold Fields Ltd also operate in Ghana, which has West Africa’s second-biggest economy after Nigeria.
Ghana produced 2.97 million ounces of gold in 2010. Output was originally seen rising in 2011 but in the end shrunk as a number of firms focused on longer-term maintenance and expansion projects rather than maximising existing production.
Sumber : Google
30 March 2013
Berita Semasa 30 Mac 2013 ...
Kumtour Gold mine woes may end soon
Reports now said Kyrgyzstan will renegotiate its 2009 project agreement with the Canadian gold miner in an open and transparent manner.
Former Soviet state Kyrgyzstan is considering to renegotiate a project agreement with Canada's Centerra over it’s flagship Kumtor gold project.
Analysts said the present situation is hurting both parties after the Toronto-listed company was given a deadline by the government to redraw the agreement related to Kumtor project.
Kyrgyzstan had given Centerra Gold three months to redraw the terms of its Kumtor gold mine deal before ripping up the agreement, accusing the Canadian miner of environmental damage and underpaying the state.
Reports now said Kyrgyzstan will renegotiate its 2009 project agreement with the Canadian gold miner in an open and transparent manner.
The Kumtor mine woes have adversely impacted Centerra’s share price which has shed 33 percent this year.
The Kumtor project, bisected by a glacier 4,000 metres above the sea level and located about 60 kilometres north of the border with China, is the largest gold mine in Central Asia operated by a Western company.
The Kumtour mine is essential to Kyrgyzstan’s fragile economy and in 2011 it contributed 12 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.
Kumtor produced more than 8.6 million ounces of gold between 1997 and the end of 2012. In 2012, Kumtor’s gold output dropped 46 percent to 315,238 ounces as a result of accelerated ice movement.
The company expects Kumtor to produce between 550,000 and 600,000 ounces of gold in 2013, Centerra said its quarterly financial statement.
Sumber : Google
29 March 2013
Berita Semasa 29 Mac 2013 ...
Peru illegal Gold mining pollution hits record levels
Peru is the world's fifth largest gold producer, and the government has made scant progress trying to halt the illegal mining and formalize the miners.
Illegal gold mining in Peru's Amazon regions could become deadly as mercury contamination hits above the level mounting threat to public health.
Carnegie Institution for Science found unsafe levels of the toxic metal in 78 percent of adults in the regional capital and in 60 percent of fish sold at markets.
Mercury is a byproduct of artisanal gold mining as practiced by the estimated 40,000 miners in the Madre de Dios region.
In discussing the overall human impact, the newly released study said that the population segment most vulnerable to mercury poisoning had the highest average mercury levels: women of childbearing age. As a neurotoxin, mercury can cause severe, permanent brain damage to an unborn child.
The study, led by Luis E. Fernandez of Stanford University, said mercury levels increased in 10 of 11 fish species studied in 2009 and then again in 2012.
Peru is the world's fifth largest gold producer, and the government has made scant progress trying to halt the illegal mining and formalize the miners.
Unlike formal mining that occurs in the Andean highlands, the mining in Madre de Dios consists chiefly of scouring riverbeds and alluvial deposits for flecks of gold that adhere to mercury in a crude amalgamation process.
About 35 metric tons of mercury is dispersed into the air and waters of the region annually, exposing not just miners to the metal but also city dwellers in Puerto Maldonado, the regional capital that is one of the urban areas where mercury vapor is released by "gold shops" that buy and refine gold.
In addition to the mercury contamination, the mining has denuded some 70 square miles (18,000 hectares) of formerly virgin rainforest in one of the world's most biologically diverse regions.
Sumber : Google
28 March 2013
Berita Semasa 28 Mac 2013 ...
Crisis hit Cyprus speeds up Gold projects
For the island nation, the clock is ticking to come up with a solution to clinch an international bailout, otherwise it could face the collapse of its financial system and likely exit from the euro zone.
Crisis hit Cyprus is rushing to find gold and other valuable metals after the country plunged into a financial meltdown.
For the island nation, the clock is ticking to come up with a solution to clinch an international bailout, otherwise it could face the collapse of its financial system and likely exit from the euro zone.
Though gold is a long time solution, Cyprus issued several permits to mining firms to test locations in and around the Troodos Mountains.
Cyprus government has asked Canadian firm Northern Lion, which began searching for gold in Troodos in January 2010, to speed up exploartion.
The company have already found gold in one site. Several other firms have licences for exploration in areas including Mitsero, Agrokipias, Mathiatis and Lysou among others. In total, as much as 140 square km of the island is set to be explored.
Analysts said under present conditions, a yield of two grams of gold per tonne of excavated earth could make mining profitable.
The history of mineral exploitation (copper, gold and other metals) in Cyprus dates back to the Bronze Age, approximately 5,000 years ago, but really picked up when the Phoenicians, then Romans began processing the island’s copper.
The island nation requires gold now desperately to escape a looming financial crisis, analysts added.
For gold market, the crisis has offered a helping hand, after investors had been pulling out of the precious metal and piling into stock markets which have rallied this year on a brighter economic outlook.
Sumber : Google
27 March 2013
Berita Semasa 27 Mac 2013 ...
Silver production to gain by 5% this year in Peru
Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines indicated that national gold production dropped by 25.12 percent through January.
World's second largest silver producer, Peru’s production is estimated to increase by 5 percent this year, driven by new mining projects.
According to a recent report by Scotiabank, the growth would represent a considerable increase from the 1.74 percent increase in silver mining last year.
Scotiabank said that the Milpo and El Brocal mining firms were currently in the midst of expanding their plants, which would lead to an increase in sliver production.
The bank said the increased investments would lead to growth of 9 percent per year, between 2014 and 2016.
Last year the Buenaventura mining company saw 16 percent growth in their silver output, the daily said. According to Scotiabank, the increase is also due to new mines such as Xstrata’s Las Bambas, Chinalco’s Toromocho, and Hudbay’s Constancia project.
"Volcan and Hochschild have new projects that are focused on increasing production," the bank added.
Meanwhile, Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines indicated that national gold production dropped by 25.12 percent through January.
At the same time, silver and copper production saw declines of 7.27 and 4.41 percent respectively.
January’s gold production was 378,162 troy ounces, down from 503,036 troy ounces in Janu
Sumber : Google
26 March 2013
Berita Semasa 26 Mac 2013 ...
Is Gold a byproduct of earthquakes?
The gold is formed when a tremor splits open a fluid-filled cavity in the crust, causing a sudden drop in pressure, they added.
Gold could be the result of repeated earthquakes, according to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
A group of Australian scientists said solid gold can be deposited in the Earth’s crust almost instantaneously during earthquakes.
The gold is formed when a tremor splits open a fluid-filled cavity in the crust, causing a sudden drop in pressure, they added.
This causes the fluid to expand rapidly and evaporate, and any gold particles that had been dissolved in it to “precipitate almost immediately,” said the team.
“Repeated earthquakes could therefore lead to the buildup of economic-grade gold deposits.” they said.
The researchers said much of the world’s known gold was derived from quartz veins that were formed during geological periods of mountain building as much as 3 billion years ago.
The veins formed during earthquakes, but the magnitude of pressure fluctuations or how they drove gold mineralization were not known.
For this study, researchers used a numerical model to simulate the drop in pressure in a fluid-filled fault cavity during an earthquake.
In so doing, they answered a long-standing question about the world’s gold resources — how the metal becomes so concentrated from a highly dissolved state to a solid, mineable one.
The study said single tremors would not generate economically viable gold deposits, which were built up one thin coating at a time. Forming a 100-ton gold vein deposit would take less than 100,000 years, the team wrote.
Sumber : Google
25 March 2013
Berita Semasa 25 Mac 2013 ...
India's Rajesh Exports to explore Gold in Africa, Australia
The company is evaluating the prospects of a few mines in Africa and Australia. These are medium mines with a capacity of five to six tonnes per year. It will be zeroing in on the mines in next six months.
Rajesh Exports Limited (REL), one of India's leading gold & diamond jewellery manufacturers said it is exploring opportunities of gold mining in Africa and Australia.
According to Rajesh Mehta, chairman of Rajesh Exports, the company has set a 10-year target of becoming self sufficient in procurement of gold through its own mines, thus becoming a totally integrated player.
The company is evaluating the prospects of a few mines in Africa and Australia. These are medium mines with a capacity of five to six tonnes per year. It will be zeroing in on the mines in next six months.
According to him, some of African countries as well as Australia have relaxed their norms for foreign companies in the mining sector. Whether the company will own or provide the basic infrastructure in the mines will depend upon the specific regulations in the respective countries.
Rajesh Exports will be importing crude gold dore bars from the mines and getting them refined at its Uttarakhand refinery. The facility has a capacity to refine around 400 tonnes of dore bars.
At present, the company exports gold mainly in the form of dore bars and it consumes 60 to 70 tonnes of gold a year.
Gold dore bars can be procured from the mines at a cost of around $600 per ounce and after the importing and refining expenses there could be a substantial savings per tonne, he said.
Sumber : Google
24 March 2013
Berita Semasa 24 Mac 2013 ...
Gold to be hit by 'investor fatigue' : Barclays
The bank also lowered its Q1 forecast to $1,630/oz from the previous $1,710/oz.
Barclays Capital has revised down gold forecast for 2013 by saying "investor fatigue" has capped upside momentum for the metal despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
The global bank revised down its gold price forecast for 2013 to $1,646/oz from $1,778/oz as it believes downside risks for the yellow metal have increased while upside catalysts have receded.
Analysts said the new forecast, if it proves correct, would make 2013 the first time the average annual gold price has fallen since 2001.
"Physical demand from India and China in part has responded to the lower price environment but the key risk here is continued ETP outflows," Barclays analyst Suki Cooper wrote in a note.
In addition, positive data indicating that the US economy is steadily recovering has weighed upon gold, which thrives in difficult times due to its safe haven properties.
The bank also lowered its Q1 forecast to $1,630/oz from the previous $1,710/oz.
The Barclays downgrade follows that of Goldman Sachs which cut its 12-month gold price forecast to $1,550/oz from $1,800/oz, citing the growing momentum of the US economy and the drop in investment holdings.
Gold ETP holdings have continued to fall after February saw a record outflow with 110t in net redemptions across the 55 products tracked by Barclays.
Net outflows have reached 27t so far in March, according to the bank. Total metal held in trust remains elevated at 2,623t but is 143t off the all-time high. Outflows for the year to date have reached 137t, compared with modest net inflows of 71t.
"There is scope for hefty ETP selling... but outflows have slowed. Here the risk is likely to rise again should yield-bearing assets outperform further," Cooper wrote.
The lower price environment has stimulated demand in China. Volume traded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange has eased from the record high set after the new year holiday but remains elevated, according to Cooper.
However, demand in India has returned to the sidelines despite local prices falling to their lowest level since July 2012. Fresh demand is expected to take place in April ahead of the wedding and festival season.
"We believe prices are likely to encounter rangebound trading, with support coming from the physical market, central bank buying, a low interest rate environment and the risk of medium-term inflation, but they could struggle to gain upward momentum without a new catalyst," Cooper wrote.
The gold price is still above the marginal cost of production plus sustaining capex, according to the analyst. Barclays estimates this cost at $1,200/oz.
Sumber : Google
23 March 2013
Berita Semasa 23 Mac 2013 ...
Gold the lone beneficiary from Cyprus episode
Analysts said the controversial bailout plan for Cyprus threatens renewed uncertainty in the euro zone, led to buying of the safe-haven metal.
Gold remained the only major commodity that gained from the mini crisis involving island nation Cyprus.
Gold rose as much as 1.1 percent to $1,608.60 an ounce, the highest since Feb. 27.
Analysts said the controversial bailout plan for Cyprus threatens renewed uncertainty in the euro zone, led to buying of the safe-haven metal.
Global stocks fell sharply as investors fretted over a weekend plan to tax depositors in Cypriot banks as part of a bailout of the Mediterranean island nation.
The euro was taking a pounding too, down 0.7 percent at $1.2954. Though Cyprus accounts for only around 0.2 percent of the combined output of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, the tax on depositors has stoked fears of bank runs in other troubled European economies.
Since the European debt crisis began in late 2009, savers have been spared. The bailout of Cyprus, agreed to early Saturday, foresees a 6.75 percent levy on deposits below (EURO)100,000 ($130,860) rising to 9.9 percent on those above.
People in Cyprus have reacted with fury to the news and the country's new president is apparently working out a new plan to be put to Parliament that will limit the hit on small depositors.
If Cyprus parliament agrees, the country would be eligible for a 10 billion euro financial rescue from its partners in the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Sunday that a no vote by Cypriot lawmakers would have huge repercussions in the country.
He said bank owners and investors had to participate in the rescue. "It can't be done any other way if we want to avoid insolvency.
Cyprus' banking sector is about eight times the size of the economy and has been accused of being a hub for money-laundering, particularly from Russia. That's why many European officials wanted to have the banks' depositors involved in the cost of the bailout.
Sumber : Google
22 March 2013
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