Gold Price Decline a Threat to Mines





 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 Fields, Acacia Mining and IAMGold and AuRico Gold had so-called all-in sustaining cash costs (AISC) of more than $1 080 per ounce mined in the first quarter, data shows.
A further six companies, including AngloGold and the world's largest producer Barrick Gold, had all-in costs of more than $900 an ounce, the data show

  • Welsh Black Gold Is Set for a Comeback; Smaller Mines Could Re-Open as World Demand for Coal Surges



Byline: Ben Glaze
COAL could one day become king again, according to industry experts and investors.
In the 1980s pits across South Wales were closed down, as one by one they were branded 'uneconomic'.
But today, just as the pricesof gasand oil are rocketing so is the price of coal.
As a result eyes are now turning to the huge coal reserves that still lie beneath parts of South Wales. Small mines have reopened in some areas and shrewd investors areoncemorebeing urged to invest their money in the so-called ' black gold'.
The increasing interest in the South Wales coalfield comes as no surprise to National Union of Mineworkers South Wales area official Wayne Thomas.
Hesaid: "Wehavebeen banging on about demand for coal for 20 years."
Though no-one is predicting a return to the industry's heyday when mine shafts littered the Valleys and employed tens of thousands of men, Mr Thomas believes firms should capitalise on the rich resources available in South Wales.
"People dream those dreams but realistically we are never going to go back to that," said Mr Thomas, who is based in Pontypridd. "Unfortunately people see coal as an old, dirty fuel linked to Arthur Scargill. But coal is a sought-after commodity.
The demand is absolutely huge.
He said the developing economies of India and Chinawereconsuming huge amounts of coal and claimed that according to British Coal research from 1979, South Wales has 250 million tons of coal left, of which 50 is easily accessible

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