Biggest losers of 2013: Countries that lost the most on gold |
- Biggest losers of 2013: Countries that lost the most on gold
- Canada gives Cameco’s Millenium mine the green light
- Newmont’s Conga copper and gold mine could restart next year—authorities
- Expect more write-downs coming soon to a gold miner near you
- Strengthened cyclone forces Australia to halt iron ore exports
- China's gold imports from Hong Kong declined by almost half in November
| Biggest losers of 2013: Countries that lost the most on gold Posted: 30 Dec 2013 11:39 AM PST American economist Paul Krugman recently noted that in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, "hundreds of thousands of gold bars sit, doing nothing in particular." That's also true in pretty much every country in the world. Central banks hold foreign reserves and in most cases gold represents a big chunk of the value. The US for example has more than 8,000 tonnes of gold. But this year was different than other years because while previously the gold became more valuable while doing nothing, this year gold actually lost value – about 28%. As a result, the value of foreign reserves also fell. At MINING.com we've compiled a list of the biggest losers of 2013. About the calculations The numbers are based on the World Gold Council's January 2013 data, which uses the end of month London PM fix gold price from November 2012 ($1,726) and countries' foreign reserve gold holdings reported in that month. Dollar amount losses are calculated using the London PM fix gold price of December 30, 2013. In the interest of providing a general summary, the calculations are based on the assumption that there were no changes in holdings. Germany was the only country on the list that decreased its gold holdings during the year, though by less than one tonne.
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| Canada gives Cameco’s Millenium mine the green light Posted: 30 Dec 2013 09:42 AM PST  Exploration camp at the Millennium deposit, on the shores of Slush Lake. Courtesy of Cameco. Canada's uranium producer Cameco (TSX: CCO), (NYSE: CCJ) can proceed with its Millennium mine, located 600 kilometres north of Saskatoon, as the provincial government of Saskatchewan approved its environmental impact assessment. According to CBC.ca, one of the most important aspects of the new uranium project is that it won't have any mills or long-term waste management facilities at the site. Rather, the radioactive material will be sent to the nearby Key Lake mine for processing. For years, Canada was the world's largest uranium producer, accounting for about 22% of world output, but in 2009, was overtaken by Kazakhstan. Currently the country's production comes mainly from the McArthur River mine, in northern Saskatchewan, the largest in the world. |
| Newmont’s Conga copper and gold mine could restart next year—authorities Posted: 30 Dec 2013 08:51 AM PST  Protest at Conga mine, October 2013. Work at Newmont Mining Corp.'s (NYSE:NEM), (TSX:NMC) majority-owned Minas Conga copper and gold project in Peru is likely to restart in the first quarter of 2014, government officials said Monday. NMe.com (in Spanish) reports that authorities of Cajamarca, the northern region where the mine will be based, met with over 30 community leaders over the weekend, with most of them allegedly saying they were in favour of the project. The group, however, said Newmont's local partner Minera Yanacocha should meet certain requirements first, including assuring jobs and helping local businesses when possible. The contentious Conga, which was to begin production in early 2015, was designed basically as an extension of the Peru's Buenaventura's nearby Yanacocha, Latin America's largest gold mine, which is approaching the end of its life. Newmont decided to halt Conga's construction work in November 2011 after violent protests in the northern Peru region forced the government to declare a state of emergency. Social pressure continued all through last year, with Peru's government hiring international consultants to report on report on the viability of the water strategy proposed for the Cajamarca region. The mine, which will require investments of $5 billion, is capable of producing up to 350,000 ounces of gold and 120 million pounds of copper per annum with a 19-year life of mine. If it goes ahead it'd be the largest-ever single private investment in the South American country. Record 2014 investment In a year-end television interview Sunday, President Humala said Peru is expected to see a record inflow of mining investments next year. He said new projects are anticipated to attract $14 billion next year, which would be an annual record for Peru. |
| Expect more write-downs coming soon to a gold miner near you Posted: 30 Dec 2013 07:00 AM PST Gold mining companies big and small are not looking forward to 2014, as most of them already know their situation is about to get worse. Bullion prices have plunged almost a third this year, stopping a 12-year run of gains. The precious metal fell out of favour with institutional and retail investors since they braced for the US Federal Reserve to cut its monthly $85 billion bond-buying scheme, moving funds to equities and other riskier assets. The sector, analysts agree, is likely to announce a series of fresh write-downs, mainly triggered by the need to re-evaluate the worth of their reserves, based on a market price that is $500 an ounce less than only a year ago. But while this year's write-downs have been mostly tied to the costs of projects, in 2014 gold miners will have to cut their land holdings value as well as the amount of precious metal they hope is in the ground, Jorge Beristain, an analyst with Deutsche Bank, told FT.com (subs. required). World's No. 1 producer Barrick (TSX, NYSE: ABX) is one of the top candidates for new write-offs. After a second-quarter loss of $8.6 billion and project devaluated more than $13 billion so far in 2013, Barrick's stock is trading around the $19 mark, making it one of the worst performers in the sector this year. The company has slashed its dividend by 75% and has vowed to cut costs by selling non-core assets and reducing its workforce. The Toronto-based company valued its gold reserves at $1,700 an ounce at the beginning of 2013, and has since lessened its price estimate to $1,250 an ounce. Industry's second-largest gold miner Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), based its statements on a $1,400 per ounce price, said early in the year that a $100 fall in the gold price would cut reserves by 7.6% Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) stock is down about 41% since the beginning of 2013, diving deeper since July, when it logged a net loss of about $2 billion. Australia's top gold producer, Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM), (TSX:NM) also had a difficult year, reporting this summer its biggest loss ever, which pushed total write-downs to $5.73 billion. Even before the gold price debacle began this year, bullion producers were facing challenges. As a PwC report shows, from the 40 main mining groups by market capitalization, four of the five that lost most value in 2012 were indeed gold producers – Barrick Gold, AngloGold Ashanti, Goldcorp, and Newmont Mining. Image Copyright Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com |
| Strengthened cyclone forces Australia to halt iron ore exports Posted: 30 Dec 2013 02:50 AM PST  Cyclone at 8:00 am ET courtesy of The Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO) Iron ore shipments from northern Australia, the world's biggest exporter, and some offshore oil drilling were halted Monday morning as tropical cyclone Christine intensified to a category 3 storm overnight, forcing local authorities to issue several red alerts.  Screengrab from Dovorack Analysis, via YouTube Western Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said the cyclone is expected to bring gusts topping 200 km/h (124 mph) by most coastal communities, including the towns of Port Hedland and South Hedland, in the country's iron ore rich Pilbara region. Australia's largest iron ore miners — BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group— have already stopped loading ships and suspended rail operations. Tropical Cyclone Christine, which intensified to a category 3 storm overnight, is expected to make landfall at around midnight local time between Karratha and Port Hedland on resource-rich but sparsely-populated Pilbara coast, source of about 50% of the global iron ore demand. Western Australia – the world's biggest iron ore exporter – is no stranger to these intense storms. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the region is the most prone to experience the natural phenomenon, with an average of two cyclones affecting the state every year. |
| China's gold imports from Hong Kong declined by almost half in November Posted: 29 Dec 2013 09:37 PM PST China, the world's largest producer and consumer of gold, went on a bit of a diet last month. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the Asian giant's net gold imports to the mainland from Hong Kong dropped by 42% in November. Weak demand from jewellers and retailers is to blame. A dealer in Hong Kong told SCMP that banks had likely reached their import quotas. Just a few months ago, China's gold imports from Hong Kong were booming - hitting second-highest record of 129 tonnes in October. According to Bloomberg, jewellers and retailers were stocking up ahead of the peak-demand season at the end of the year. In November, the country imported just 76 tonnes. But compared with two years ago, these import levels are still huge. In December 2011, China was importing just 39 tonnes of gold. The country gets most of its gold via Hong Kong and since the mainland doesn't publish its gold trade data, Hong Kong figures provide a good estimate of import levels. |
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