Investors Favour Mines' Shares over Physical Gold BYLINE: Debarati Roy INVESTORS seeking a hedge against a waning US economic recovery and escalating conflict in Ukraine have made twice as much money buying gold- mining shares rather than the metal. The Market Vectors Gold Miners exchange- traded fund (ETF) has climbed 27 percent this year, more than double the 13 percent advance for the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded product backed by bullion. This is the first quarter the company fund is outperforming the metal ETF since 2012. Assets in the fund tracking the producers have expanded 6 percent in the past four weeks, compared with a 2. 7 percent gain for the gold trust, data show. Investors are returning to the shares after companies in the benchmark Philadelphia gold & silver index traded at the cheapest ever relative to the price of bullion in December last year. Last year's 28 percent plunge for the precious metal, the bigge...

Mines Tighten Belts as Gold Boom Ends BYLINE: Eddie van der Walt London THE BIGGEST gold bust in three decades is about to end a six-year expansion in mine output. From Russia to South Africa to North America, the biggest producers saw profits turn to losses as prices plunged, forcing them to cut spending on mines in half over three years. While bullion output would probably reach a record this year, the increase would be the smallest in at least six years, before production dropped 1 percent in 2016, according to Barclays. Mines supplied 3 114 tons last year, a record high valued at about $127 billion (R1.5 trillion), after companies stepped up investment to capitalise on prices that surged more than fivefold in the decade through 2011. While the appeal of gold as a financial asset means that supply does not usually influence the precious metal's value as much as economic or monetary policies - partly because every ounce ever mined still exists - demand is gr...

Clarence Mines Gold in Adelaide THIRTEEN Clarence Valley rowers turned out in Adelaide last week to compete in the Australian Rowing Championships and Interstate Regatta. The gruelling week of competition means a minimum of three races and in some cases four. Despite some Valley rowers contesting more than three events, they managed to bring home two gold and four silver medals. Rachael See, struggling with the weight limits for lightweight rowers, managed a solid second place in the B final of the under- 23 women's single scull but her partner was unable to make weight for her double scull. Her highlight was a silver medal in the under- 23 women's quad scull. Perinne Tyler, competing in her first nationals, was competitive in all her races, just missing the semis of the under- 19 double scull and single scull. Cameron Kitcher, balancing training with his HSC, performed well in his single and just missed the semis. He made up for that in his schoolbo...

WPIAL Mines Gold Medals at PIAA Track Meet Schofield, Paul, Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review SHIPPENSBURG -- It didn't take long for the WPIAL to get its first gold medalist Saturday at the PIAA track and field championships. District 7 was shut out Friday, but South Fayette senior Nicole Hilton won the 3, 200 meters almost 11 minutes after Day 2 started at 9 a. m. at Shippensburg University. She wasn't the only athlete from the WPIAL to win gold; 9 others collected 11 more championships. Penn Hills senior Iman Wilkerson (Class AAA) and Clairton junior Trenton Coles (Class AA) headed the list by sprinting to wins in the 100 and 200. Hempfield senior Rachel Serafin won her third consecutive Class AAA discus title, and Belle Vernon senior Matt Green won his second Class AAA long jump title. He also won in 2009. Other winners were Quaker Valley junior L. J. Westwood (AA, 800), Summit Academy senior Cyniel Hinton (AA, 110 hurdles), Norwin junior Kase...

 Gold stocks dropped as bullion fell to a five- year low, with costs for seven of the world's 18 biggest mining companies of the precious metal now exceeding the spot price. The 15- member Bloomberg Intelligence Global Senior Gold Valuation Peers index declined 2. 7 percent by 1. 06pm on Friday in London, to the weakest level since it began in 2005. Record low AngloGold Ashanti led the declines, dropping 6 percent to a record low. Gold dropped to $1 080 (R13 616) an ounce on Friday afternoon's second fix in London. Investors are dumping the metal on expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon raise interest rates amid a strengthening economy. "The lowest price forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts for year- end 2016 is $825 an ounce, which would make the majority of gold miners unprofitable," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ken Hoffman wrote in a note on Friday. Harmony Gold Mining, Golden Star Resources, DRDGold, Gold Field...

Barrick Gold Corp. to Sell Three High-Cost Mines in Australia for $300 Million Posadzki, Alexandra, The Canadian Press Barrick to sell three Australian mines -- TORONTO - Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) has agreed to sell off three high-cost mines in Western Australia to South Africa-based miner Gold Fields Ltd. -- a move analysts say will free Barrick up to focus on more profitable operations. Barrick said it will receive about $300 million from the sale, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board. The company said the three mines that comprise the Yilgarn South assets produced a total of 452,000 ounces of gold in 2012 and a further 196,000 ounces in the first half of this year. Kerry Smith, an analyst at Haywood Securities, said selling the higher-cost mines will reduce Barrick's operating expenses and have only a minimal impact on the company's production volumes. ...

Treasure Hunting Estate Sales Can Be Gold Mines for Savvy Shoppers Respess, Susan P., The Florida Times Union When Cindy Bishop goes shopping, she dons comfy clothes, packs a lunch and takes no purse. She hopes for dismal, rainy weather. It's her strategy for shopping estate sales, and it's won her a houseful of treasures at bargain prices. Almost every weekend in the Jacksonville area, a professional dealer is holding an estate sale to clear out a household, usually after the owner has died, moved away or become too ill to remain. Sometimes, one house may have items from more than one estate. Usually, the first ones at the door are antiques dealers. They scan every corner of the house, the garage and yard for items. The dealers will resell the items in their antique shops, often at a markup. However, you can go to the estate sale and buy directly. Shoppers like Bishop, look for collectibles and antique...

School Lunches Are Gold Mines for Recycling, Reusing and Replenishing Brandpoint, St. Joseph News-Press (BPT) - From an early age, children can roll up their sleeves and get involved in helping reduce the amount of trash they produce by participating in recycling programs. Across the country, children will celebrate Earth Day April 22 with science fairs and environmental educational seminars about the importance of recycling. When children start recycling early in life, they're more likely to continue that behavior as they get older - and pass the practice on to their own kids. Recycling is a growing program in households, cities and schools across the country. In fact, Americans recycled 82 million tons of materials in 2009 - the most recent year for reported data, and that number keeps increasing, according to Keep America Beautiful. School programs are a great way to not only promote recycling in younger generations, but also to create a fundraiser for th...

Gold Fields Buys Aussie Mines after Loss BYLINE: Reuters Hit by lower gold prices and rising costs at home, Gold Fields reported a second-quarter loss yesterday and said it was expanding abroad with a $300 million (R3.1bn) deal to buy three Australian mines from top producer Barrick Gold. The company said it made a net loss of $129m in the three months to June compared with a net profit of $27m in the previous quarter and $105m in the same quarter last year. Earlier this year Gold Fields separated off the bulk of its assets in South Africa, where labour and political risks are seen as relatively high in the context of a sharp fall in gold prices, a point underlined this week by a new strike threat. "The gold industry [in South Africa] is frankly in crisis at the moment," chief executive Nick Holland said. Gold Fields' shares fell by 9.13 percent to close at R59.89 yesterday, with the strike threat in South Africa hitting the shares of other...

Gold Mines, a City's Pride, Leave Toxic Legacy RANDFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) - When it rains in the shantytown of Tudor Shaft, the streets pool with orange water that smells like vinegar. Experts say the water contains radioactive minerals and has killed all aquatic life in a nearby river. Tudor Shaft takes its name, and its troubles, from an abandoned gold mine. It's just a fraction of the toxic but long- overlooked legacy of South Africa's most famous industry. Mining accounts for 17 percent of everything South Africa produces, and the country is the world's fourth biggest exporter, sitting on a mother lode that runs for miles from Johannesburg into the countryside. Social campaigners, preoccupied first with overthrowing apartheid and then with raising living standards for a badly neglected black majority, are now waking up to the environmental cause. The effects of mining are the focus of parliamentary debate and newspaper stories. But ...