-- Posted 24 March, 2010 | | Source: SilverSeek.com

The Metals:

Gold fell to as low as $1088.20 by a little after 8:30AM EST before it bounced back higher into the close, but it still ended with a loss of 1.36%.  Silver followed a similar pattern and ended not far from its low of $16.56 with a loss of 2.24%.

Euro gold remained at about €817, platinum lost $21.50 to $1581.50, and copper fell a few cents to about $3.34.

Gold and silver equities fell for most of the day and ended with about 4% losses.

The Economy:

Home loan demand down 2nd week as rates rise  Yahoo

White House Steps Up Push For a Financial Overhaul Bill  Yahoo

Tomorrow at 8:30AM EST brings Initial Jobless Claims for 3/20 expected at 450,000, fourth quarter GDP expected at 5.9%, and the GDP Deflator expected at 0.4%.  At 9:55 is Michigan Sentiment for March expected at 73.0.

The Markets:

Charts Courtesy of http://finance.yahoo.com/

Oil extended early losses after the Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories built 7.3 million barrels, gasoline inventories fell 2.7 million barrels, and distillates fell 2.4 million barrels.

The U.S. dollar index soared higher as the euro fell again on increased eurozone concerns after Fitch downgraded Portugal’s debt to AA from AAA.

Treasuries dropped markedly on supply worries both before and after today’s $42 billion five year note auction drew a high yield of 2.605% with a bid to cover of 2.55.

The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P fell on worries over Portugal and European debt problems.

Among the big names making news in the market today were Starbucks, Lennar, and General Mills.

The Commentary:

“I only have one item for your reading pleasure today... but I have a lot of commentary to go with it.

First of all, when GATA started out, it took us a couple of years for us to figure out that it wasn't just a few bullion banks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs out to make a few bucks... but that it was a conspiracy on a far grander scale which involved the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve... plus other central banks.  It was the cornerstone of Secretary Treasurer Robert Rubin's "strong dollar policy" which we still hear talk of every once in a while.

With that policy now in the trash bin of history, the price management scheme is still going on... with the two U.S. bullion banks [at least the ones we can see]... JPMorgan and HSBC USA... doing the heavy lifting for the Fed and the Treasury Department.  These are two of the big bullion banks in the Commercial '4 or less' traders category of the Commitment of Traders report.  Now they are stuck with these huge short positions which cannot be covered without driving the prices of both metals to the outer edges of the know universe.

Gold and silver, the two monetary metals, are the often mentioned "canaries in the coal mine".  A parabolic rise in the face of the economic, financial and monetary woes that this planet is currently experiencing, would cause a stampede out of paper assets and into hard assets... a fight that they are [slowly, but surely] losing anyway.  They're trying to prevent 'death by a single thrust'... by substituting 'death by a thousand cuts' instead.  It's a controlled retreat... and they're hoping that nobody will notice... that's why they have their 'talking heads' that they trot out to denigrate gold whenever the precious metals markets are showing... or about to show... too much 'irrational exuberance'.

But what brought GATA's fight into clear focus, was a piece written by British economist Peter Warburton back in April of 2001.  The whole article, entitled "The debasement of world currency: it is inflation, but not as we know it" is worth reading [linked here]... but it's three paragraphs from that essay that brings the Federal Reserve's fight against the precious metals [and all physical commodities] to the forefront.  I've quoted them in my column before, but on the eve of the CFTC hearings tomorrow, they are worth revisiting... and here they are.  Don't forget Warburton wrote this nine years ago next month... so some of the figures he's using are out of date... but that doesn't matter. 

Central banks are engaged in a desperate battle on two fronts

"What we see at present is a battle between the central banks and the collapse of the financial system fought on two fronts. On one front, the central banks preside over the creation of additional liquidity for the financial system in order to hold back the tide of debt defaults that would otherwise occur. On the other, they incite investment banks and other willing parties to bet against a rise in the prices of gold, oil, base metals, soft commodities or anything else that might be deemed an indicator of inherent value. Their objective is to deprive the independent observer of any reliable benchmark against which to measure the eroding value, not only of the US dollar, but of all fiat currencies. Equally, their actions seek to deny the investor the opportunity to hedge against the fragility of the financial system by switching into a freely traded market for non-financial assets."

"It is important to recognize that the central banks have found the battle on the second front much easier to fight than the first. Last November, I estimated the size of the gross stock of global debt instruments at $90 trillion for mid-2000. How much capital would it take to control the combined gold, oil and commodity markets? Probably, no more than $200bn, using derivatives. Moreover, it is not necessary for the central banks to fight the battle themselves, although central bank gold sales and gold leasing have certainly contributed to the cause. Most of the world’s large investment banks have over-traded their capital [bases] so flagrantly that if the central banks were to lose the fight on the first front, then their stock would be worthless. Because their fate is intertwined with that of the central banks, investment banks are willing participants in the battle against rising gold, oil and commodity prices."

"Central banks, and particularly the US Federal Reserve, are deploying their heavy artillery in the battle against a systemic collapse. This has been their primary concern for at least seven years. Their immediate objectives are to prevent the private sector bond market from closing its doors to new or refinancing borrowers and to forestall a technical break in the Dow Jones Industrials. Keeping the bond markets open is absolutely vital at a time when corporate profitability is on the ropes. Keeping the equity index on an even keel is essential to protect the wealth of the household sector and to maintain the expectation of future gains. For as long as these objectives can be achieved, the value of the US dollar can also be stabilized in relation to other currencies, despite the extraordinary imbalances in external trade."

There, in a nutshell, is the entire story.

So, with that preamble out of the way, I now present today's 8-page letter sent to CFTC chairman Gary Gensler, by GATA director Adrian Douglas.  It goes without saying that this a must read... and if you have the time, you should read it more than once.  This letter, and the letter sent in by GATA chairman Bill Murphy, pretty much sum up what GATA's presentation tomorrow in Washington is all about.

Borrowing heavily from the work of silver analyst Ted Butler and others, Adrian spells it out.  There are too many highlights to mention them all, but one of the biggest is the graph from German researcher and GATA consultant Dimitri Speck at the top of page 4... which is titled "Average GOLD Intraday change: August 1993 - March 2009".  That's five and a half years of data.  How many times, dear reader, have I mentioned the fact that the lows of the day [in both metals] occurs at the London p.m. gold fix?  Well, this graph says it all.  There's also a fine example of it in both gold and silver in the two graphs at the top of today's column.  The red line is Monday, March 22nd... the lows of the day, you ask... in New York trading at the London p.m. gold fix.

Mr. Douglas also commented on something else that's a favourite whipping boy of mine... and that's the fact that the two U.S. bullion banks holding the biggest short positions in silver and gold... JPMorgan and HSBC USA... also happen to be the custodians for the SLV and GLD ETFs.  I've mentioned that countless times in this column over the years.  At GATA's Annual General Meeting in Vancouver, B.C. in January... board member Catherine Austin Fitts brought up the subject of a "material omission" in the prospectuses of these two ETFs regarding this... and I'm glad to see that Adrian has put this very important issue on the record with the CFTC.  GATA plans to proceed further on this point once tomorrow's CFTC hearing is out the way.

There are many other solid points made by Douglas in this letter... and as I said before, I urge you to give this letter the time it deserves.  It's headlined "Comments for the Commission for the Public Hearing on the Metals Market: March 25, 2010"... and the link to the pdf file is here.”– From Ed Steer’s Gold & Silver Daily, read the full report here.

“U.S. Stock Market - I’ve been saying DJIA 11,000 is a question of when, not if. A pullback today is possible but the technicals suggest we can get even higher before it’s all said and done. This by no means suggests you go out and buy the market but instead prepare for the day the “Fat Boy” (not so fat these days and hopefully even thinner in the weeks and months ahead) from Freehold puts his bear suit back on.

Gold and Silver - Disappointing to a degree that they were not able to break out as thought. But, after watching the paper hangers on the CrimeNex, nothing surprises me anymore. Bullish sentiment, especially among retail investors, has evaporated and a sense of inevitably lower prices seemingly has gripped these investors. I love it when a plan comes together. This is what has occurred for almost a decade in this secular bull market before we went to much higher levels and I believe it should do so again.

U.S. Dollar - I continue to look for 83-84 on the U.S. Dollar Index and believe we can see it in the 2nd quarter.

U.S. Bonds - Avoid!

Oil & Gas - No interest either side of things.”- Peter Grandich, Grandich Letter

“Dear CIGAs,

Twelve hours after departing JFK you arrive at one of the best airports in the world. A layover in Dubai is an experience and a pleasure. This is one of the busiest airports when it comes to gold bullion purchases. Already at 9 AM the counters are busy. This major point of Middle Eastern travel clearly respects gold as money and does not seem to be bothered by the madness of the currency markets now under control of the algorithm driven hedge funds and the financial anarchists that have sown the seeds of disaster amongst all the Western world economies.

Looking back from where I came today it is hard to distinguish between the problems of the EU and the percolating US dollar situation. The USA is an economic and political union under severe economic stress.

There is no question that the bankruptcy of US states is a much larger problem than Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal all put together.

USA investors still feel that their country and currency is invulnerable to the problems presently facing the EU.

Quite to the contrary and within a sort period of time it will be evident that the USA and GB have an incurable debt problem of greater significance than the EU.

The US dollar is no safe haven. In fact there is no safe haven in any currency as they are all paper instruments with promises to pay absolutely nothing whatsoever. All have huge liabilities attached

In North America it is still the Canadian dollar and in Europe it is the Swiss franc which are the respective fiat currencies of choice.

Gold is the only currency free of liability. Gold is the ultimate currency that will carry you across this Sea of Samsara.

Gold will trade at $1650 and above. About that I have no doubt.

If you recall back at $529.40 my advice was to cease trading gold. It was at that point the price had entered into a runaway. That advice remains intact.”- Jim Sinclair, JSMineset.com

“Dear Friends,

Let’s see whether or not the CFTC can do what is so obviously needed in the metals markets. I have heard it repeated over and over that the establishment of position limits will hurt liquidity and drive this business overseas. In my opinion that is irrelevant to the very reason that limits were initially established, namely to prevent any entities or combination of entities from amassing so large a position size that they are able to artificially manipulate the price either upwardly or downwardly.

The goal of the CFTC is ensure that the playing field is level especially for the general public, not to ensure that the exchanges make as much money as possible.

Besides, the issue of liquidity is a red herring. There is always sufficient liquidity to get in or get out of a market in an active contract month provided that a trader is skillful in the manner in which they enter or exit a position of size. The best traders of the past would always test a market to see how it absorbed their buying or selling and were careful to move discreetly. Today’s hedge funds however are clumsy clunkers whose computers throw large sized orders into a market making no effort to move in or move out so as to avoid disturbing a market unnecessarily. In the past skilled traders would build or exit positions and do so in such a fashion that few were aware of their activities. It might take them several days or even weeks to complete their activities. That is not the case with the computer controlled goons who are too damn lazy to do anything for themselves but rely on their algorithms to get them out in milliseconds. That is what this issue of “liquidity” is really all about.

…

Dear CIGAs,

That eerie quiet that I spoke of yesterday – well – it became “unquiet” last evening as traders became convinced that the IMF was going to get involved in the Greece situation as the Eurozone appears unwilling or unable to do anything to alleviate it. The result was predictable once that mind set took firm hold – The Euro, and all of Europe for that matter, was sold off sharply crashing through downside chart support and kicking the Dollar up and out of its range trade as it blasted above the 81.50 level.

Gold was then set upon by a horde of Banshees who promptly knocked out the props beneath it that had been keeping it floating above the $1,100 level. In Dollar terms it is not performing all that well (at least it is bouncing from the chart support level marked out on the daily) but in terms of both the Euro and the British Pound, it is actually doing fairly well. Euro gold came in at €816.491, 2 euros higher than the previous day’s PM fix. Sterling gold at £731.605 was also higher than yesterday’s fix.

The chatter is that there is no inflation in the Eurozone and that is the reason for the selling in terms of the latter mentioned currencies but that misses the point – gold is an alternative currency without obligations attached to it and that is why it will continue to garner buying interest as the currency woes of Europe persist. In Dollar terms it will tend to underperform compared to those other currencies but the Dollar has its own set of issues confronting it as well, not the least of which is another unfunded trillion dollar monstrosity that was just heaped upon the US. For now the Dollar is winning by a sort of default when compared to Europe but the woes in the various states here in the US will inevitably be too significant to ignore by the Pollyannas who exist in the US investment community.

Technically, the Dollar now has a legitimate shot at 83.20 – 83.45 on the weekly price chart.

This Dollar strength led to selling in silver, copper, crude oil and just about every other commodity.

Gold has now dropped down below the $1,100 level which had been attracting buying for the last month but the sell off in the Euro was too much for gold to withstand the attack by the bears. Even with that, as long as gold continues to display strength in terms of the various European currencies, that is going to lend it buying support in Dollar terms and prevent a rout. We will have to keep a close eye on the action of both Euro gold and Sterling gold.

Unfortunately the HUI, detailing the action in the mining shares, broke below the bottom of its recent range triggering technical selling across most of the sector. It has a bit of support near 400 but if it cannot hold there, 390 is the next feasible target. It will need to climb back into the trading range zone to stave off the bears ideally pushing up through 420 to give the bulls some breathing room and unnerve a few of the bears.

By the way, sales of new homes were the worst on record. No doubt the severe wintry weather had a great deal to do with the rotten number but it certainly gives one further pause whenever we hear more talk about the “recovery”. That made the sell off in the bonds a bit murky which sank sharply falling over 1 ½ points at one time. Even at that, bonds have not broken down through support that has emerged near 115^27. We need to watch this however. There are a fair amount of spreads occurring were the short end is being bought and the long end sold in anticipation of the inevitable consequences of the spendathon at the federal level and the QE program. Some are reading the rising yield curve as a sign of an improving economy which incidentally allows the banks to make more money on their lending activities.”- Dan Norcini, More at JSMineset.com

GATA Posts:

Chilton's agenda is troublesome, so watch out for that truck

How to watch, listen to CFTC's hearing on metals trading

Six TV and radio interviews for GATA chairman amid CFTC expedition

Odds against imposition of metals limits by CFTC

The Statistics:

Activity from: 3/23/2010

Global Gold ETF Holdings

[WGC Sponsored ETF’s]

 Note: Change in Total Tonnes from yesterday’s data: SPDR added 4.568 tonnes and the LSE subtracted 0.23 tonnes.

COMEX Gold Trust (IAU) Total Tonnes in Trust: 76.96 - No change from yesterday’s data.

Silver Trust (SLV) Total Tonnes in Trust: 9,278.18 - No change from yesterday’s data.

The Miners:

Golden Mineral’ (AUMN) closed offering, Taseko’s (TGB) agreements with the Sojitz Consortium, Gold Fields’ (GFI) appointment of Richard Weston as Executive Vice-President of its Australasian Region, Barrick’s (ABX) closed IPO, US Gold’s (UXG) drill results, Apollo’s (AGT) mine update, Hochschild’s CEO and CFO resignations, and Endeavour’s (EXK) year end results were among the big stories in the gold and silver mining industry making headlines today.

WINNERS

LOSERS

Winners & Losers tracks NYSE and AMEX listed gold and silver mining stocks that trade over $1.

All of today's gold and silver stock news:

Oromin on Schedule for Mid-2010 Feasibility Study and Development of the OJVG Sabodala Gold Project - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Treaty No. 3 First Nations & Canadian Arrow Mines Conclude Exploration Agreement - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Golden Minerals Company Announces Closing of Offering - "Golden Minerals Company (AMEX:AUMN - News) (TSX:AUM - News) ("Golden Minerals" or "the Company") announced today it has closed its previously announced public offering of 4,000,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $8.50 per share. Golden Minerals sold 3,652,234 shares and a selling stockholder sold 347,766 shares. In addition, for up to 30 days, Golden Minerals has granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional 600,000 shares of common stock from the Company to cover over-allotments." More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

CRCC-Tongguan Extends Bid for Corriente to April 28, 2010 - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Explor Increases Kidd Township Property - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Coro Intercepts 122 Metres of 0.77% Copper From Drilling Program at Chacay Property - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Caldera Resources and Global Gold sign Joint Venture on the Marjan Gold-Silver Deposit in Armenia - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Acero-Martin Exploration Inc.: Announces Non-Brokered Private Placement - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Rainy River Announces High-Grade Gold Results and Continued Exploration Success - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Diamond Fields and David Heydon Sign Deep Sea Mining Agreement - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Lomiko Metals Inc.: JOGMEC Extends Due Diligence Period for Alkali Lake Lithium Brine Project - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Stratabound extends Captain deposit with deep undercut; agrees to $1 million financing; CNE drilling resumes - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Taseko Signs Agreement With Sojitz Corporation - "Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company"), owner of Gibraltar Mines Ltd. is pleased to announce that the definitive agreements with the Sojitz Consortium for their previously announced joint venture investment in the Gibraltar Mine were executed last week. The joint venture partners will be Gibraltar Mines Ltd. (75%) and Cariboo Copper Corp. (25%) (jointly owned by Sojitz Corporation (50%), Dowa Metals & Mining Co., Ltd. (25%) and Furukawa Co., Ltd. (25%)). The transaction is scheduled to close on March 31, 2010 for total consideration of approximately C$187 million." More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

MacDonald Mines Signs Exploration Agreement With Webequie First Nation; Commences Drilling in Ring of Fire, James Bay Lowlands - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Yorbeau Continues Drill Testing of Augmitto-Astoria Corridor - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Sparton Completes Sale of 39% Interest in Luxi Gold Project, Yunnan China; Total Sale Price of 14 Million Renminbi or USD$2.044 Million US Dollars - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Eskay Mining Corporation Announces Grant of Options - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Uragold Acquires 100% Interest in the Inverness Gold Property Near Thedford Mines Substantially Increasing its Property Holdings - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Malaga Inc. expects sales of US$ 1 million from copper-silver tailings from Pasto Bueno in Q1 2010 - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Galore Commences Exploration Program at Dos Santos - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Ron Netolitzky to Join Fission's Executive Advisory Board; Bought Deal Private Placement Scheduled to Close on April 7th, 2010 - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Sona Grants Incentive Options - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Jinshan Gold Mines Inc. Announces IFRS Conversion - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Cadan Updates Testing Phase of Its T'Boli Gold Plant - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

INV Metals Reports 2009 Results and Provides 2010 Outlook - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Argentex samples 59 g/t gold at Condor; drill tests multiple targets at Pinguino, Santa Cruz, Argentina - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Amato announces understanding with China Metallurgical Industry Planning & Research Institute and Amato announces termination of letter agreement with Minera - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Golden Goliath Resources Ltd.: Filo de Oro Zone Expanded by Both Underground and Surface Channel Sampling - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

African Gold Group, Inc., Intersects 18 Meters of 7.04 g/t Au in Zone 1 and 21 Meters of 4.89 g/t Au on 400 Meter Step-Out, at Kobada, Mali - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Alto Re-Activates Alcudia Project in the Urban-Barry Gold Belt, Quebec, Summer Exploration Planned - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Sunward Resources Ltd. Announces the Commencement of Drilling at the Titiribi Multi-Target Gold-Copper Project in Antioquia, Colombia - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Merrex Gold Announces Share Dividend - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

VirtualHealth Technologies, Inc. Formalizes Name Change to VHGI Holdings, Inc. to Better Reflect its Current Business Model Related to Energy and Gold - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Superior Mining International Corporation: Confirmation of Near Surface Gold Zones From Exploration Drilling, With Decision to Proceed to Bulk Sampling - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Peregrine Commences Spring Diamond Exploration Programme at Chidliak - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Tournigan Increases Indicated Resource, Adds High Grade, at Kuriskova Uranium Deposit, Slovakia - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Quaterra Announces First Advanced Project With Goldcorp Under Mexico Investment Framework Agreement - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Uranerz Initiates Permit Applications for Third Powder River Basin Unit - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Uranium North Acquires Gold Project With Historic Assays Up to 117 g/t Au and 1420 g/t Ag - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Merc Commences Drilling at Its Damoti Lake Gold Project - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

REC Minerals Signs Exploration Services Contract for Yukon Olympic - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Canstar Files Factum on Mary March Property; Grants Director's Replacement Options - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Sulliden to Host Conference Call Today at 2:00pm EST - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Aura Minerals Provides Update on Exploration of the Inaja Project, Brazil - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Largo Resources Announces Extension of Option to Purchase Additional 30% at Northern Dancer Project, Yukon - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Corex Gold Corp. Announces New Director - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Prophecy Initiates Deep IP survey and Bulk Tonnage Metallurgical Testing at Lynn Lake Nickel Sulphide Project, Manitoba - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Vena Reports Additional Polymetallic Intersections at Esquilache - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Goldeye Completes Debt Conversion with Joint Venture Partner - More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Hochschild Mining CEO and CFO to leave, shares fall - "Latin American precious metal producer Hochschild Mining said its chief executive and finance director were both leaving the company, knocking its shares even as it announced strong results.

Miguel Aramburu will step down as chief executive for personal reasons on March 31 and be succeeded by chief operating officer Ignacio Bustamante. Finance director Ignacio Rosado has resigned and will leave on May 31." More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

New Head for Gold Fields Australasia - "Gold Fields Limited (Gold Fields) (JSE, NYSE, NASDAQ Dubai: GFI) today announces the appointment of Richard Weston as Executive Vice-President of its Australasian Region with effect from May 1. Weston will be part of the company's Executive Committee reporting to CEO Nick Holland." More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Barrick Announces Closing of African Barrick Gold plc Initial Public Offering - "Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick") (NYSE:ABX - News)(TSX:ABX - News) announced today that the initial public offering for African Barrick Gold plc ("ABG") has now closed and its approximately 404 million ordinary shares have been admitted to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities under the ticker "ABG". Net proceeds of the offering are approximately $834 million which will be paid to Barrick. ABG has an initial cash balance of approximately $280 million." More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Endeavour Silver Reports Record Financial and Operating Results in 2009 - "For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company generated Sales Revenues totalling $50.8 million (2008 - $39.3 million) at an average sale price of $15.49 per oz (2008 - $14.51 per oz) on its silver production. After Costs of Sales of $29.5 million (2008 - $27.8 million), Mine Operating Cash-flows amounted to $21.3 million (2008 - $11.5 million) from its mining and milling operations in Mexico. After Depreciation and Depletion of $11.3 million (2007 - $8.4 million), Mine Operating Earnings were $10.0 million (2008 - $3.1 million) in 2009. Operating Earnings were break-even (2008 - $12.9 million loss) and the Company incurred a Net Loss for the year ended December 31, 2009 of $1.9 million (2008 - $18.0 million). Cash costs were $6.04 per oz silver produced (2008 - $9.03), net of gold by-product credits." More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Significant Grades & Widths Continue at US Gold's El Gallo Silver Discovery - "US GOLD CORPORATION (AMEX:UXG - News)(TSX:UXG - News) is pleased to announce further encouraging core drilling results from five separate areas (Fig. 1) within its El Gallo Project in Sinaloa State, Mexico. Top three best holes (of the twenty-three assayed) since our last update: 18.9 ounces of silver per ton (opt) over 49.5 ft (feet) (647.0 grams per tonne (gpt) over 15.1 meters (m)), 11.8 opt silver over 59.1 ft (404.0 gpt silver over 18.0 m) and 6.7 opt silver over 59.1 ft (228.3 gpt silver over 18.0 m)." More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

Apollo Gold Provides Update on Black Fox Mine's Gold Production Growth and Commencement of Underground Development in Second Quarter - "Apollo Gold Corporation (TSX: APG - News) (NYSE Amex: AGT) (“Apollo”) announces that Apollo’s Black Fox Mine is expected to commence underground development during the second quarter of 2010 (“Q2 2010”), and that initial ore production from the underground mine is expected to commence during the third quarter of 2010 (“Q3 2010”). All currency referenced in this news release is in U.S. dollars." More
- March 24, 2010 | Item | ShareThis

- Chris Mullen, Gold Seeker Report

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