Gold and Silver – Page 255 – Republic of Mining

Big-name lawyer takes on Ontario’s law society [Bre-X and Joe Groia] (MACLEAN’S Magazine – April 27, 2014)

April 28, 2014

http://www.macleans.ca/

Judges said that Joe Groia was “unprofessional” in his successful defense of Bre-X vice-president John Felderhof against fraud charges in the late 1990s

The Canadian Press – TORONTO – A prominent securities lawyer and the society that regulates the legal profession in Ontario are bound for court in the latest round of an epic battle started in the aftermath of the billion-dollar Bre-X mining fiasco in the late 1990s.

Closely watched by the legal profession, the contest pits Joe Groia, who successfully defended the only person charged in the history-making securities scandal, against the Law Society of Upper Canada.

“There have been few cases, if any, where the (society) has been so dogged and determined to maintain a position that was so damaging to the public and profession as a whole,” Groia argues in court documents.

How he behaved during the tumultuous Bre-X courtroom odyssey is what’s at issue. The society maintains Groia misbehaved to such an extent in defending Bre-X vice-president John Felderhof that he warranted a two-month suspension and ordered him to pay $247,000 in costs — reduced on initial appeal in March to one month and $200,000.

In destabilising economic war over Ukraine, gold the winner – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – April 25, 2014)

April 25, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

U.S. data and the escalating Ukraine crisis have seen gold Yo-Yo down and back up again.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Some very volatile trading in gold and silver yesterday. The former dived to its lowest price since February to around the $1,270 mark before almost immediately rebounding sharply to a little below $1,300 before settling above $1,290, a position it held overnight.

Silver, living up to its more volatile general role at one stage dipped down below $19.00, its weakest level since its December lows before it too revived sharply jumping back to close the day at around the $19.60 level before settling back to around $19.55 where it was sitting this morning as Europe opened.

Analysts put the price movements to factors such as U.S. economic data, but in this writer’s view the downturn was largely due to a loss in confidence by traders in the prospects for short term precious metals price growth following gold and silver’s lacklustre performance as it drifted downwards – but then the recovery came on the back of the deteriorating situation on the ground in the Ukraine. Ukrainian forces started to move in to quell the demonstrations and government building occupations in the Donetsk region in the east of the country.

‘Exciting years’ for Lake Shore Gold – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – April 25, 2014)

April 25, 2014

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Dan Gagnon held a captive audience of local business owners as he talked about the prospects of Lake Shore Gold’s “continuous improvement and growth” filtering down to the community.

“I think we’ve had an exciting couple of years, definitely a breakthrough year for us in 2013,” said Gagnon, who is Lake Shore Gold’s senior vice-president of operations. “We saw a steady increase in production. We started generating free cash flow, so we’re now a business that can fund its own projects … We’ve basically gone from 85,000 ounces a year in 2012, to 135,000 in 2013, to 160,000 to 180,000 (anticipated this year).”

Gagnon was the keynote speaker at a Timmins Chamber of Commerce luncheon held Thursday at the Schumacher Lions Den.

Asked if there were opportunities for small local businesses to prosper from the growth in operations at Lake Shore Gold, Gagnon replied, “Definitely. In 2012, for example, we spent $130 million locally. That was 60% of our spending which was basically local with all the suppliers that you see off Algonquin Boulevard. There is a big push for us to support the local, then the Northern and then Ontario.”

Peter Munk to leave Barrick Gold having seen its highs and lows – by James Wilson (Financial Times – April 24, 2014)

April 24, 2014

http://www.ft.com/home/us

Peter Munk started Barrick Gold with $40m of his own money in 1982, knowing not much about mining.

Now 86, and after more than 30 years in the gold business, Mr Munk still talks about Barrick having been the entrepreneurial “young upstart” for much of its life – but it became a company worth $50bn, a Canadian national champion built by a Hungarian-born refugee and the largest producer of gold in history.

Yet the past two years have been tough on Mr Munk, Barrick and the rest of the gold industry, particularly 2013, when Barrick posted $11.5bn of writedowns, cut its dividend and had to raise $3bn in equity to try to cut its debt.

“I would not have chosen this particular year as my final one as chairman, but I don’t get to write the script,” a chastened Mr Munk wrote in the company’s annual report. Barrick is now worth about $21bn.

Mr Munk also acknowledged the damage wrought by Barrick’s acquisition of Equinox Minerals in 2011. The unexpected diversification into copper came at an inflated price, for cash, and sparked doubts last year over Barrick’s debt levels and liquidity.

Barrick invites Newmont to restart merger talks – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – April 24, 2014)

April 24, 2014

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Barrick Gold Corp. has formally asked Newmont Mining Corp. to resume merger talks after their negotiations hit an impasse late last week, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The North American-based gold miners had come close to agreeing on an all-stock deal, but their discussions broke down over which assets to spin out from the combined company, other sources have said.

The companies had aimed to make an announcement before their annual shareholder meetings this month. Colorado-based Newmont held its meeting in Delaware Wednesday morning, and Toronto-headquartered Barrick’s meeting is scheduled for April 30.

Barrick e-mailed the request to restart talks to Newmont, outlining the terms of their friendly proposal as well as issues that still must be resolved, according to the source familiar with what transpired.

About 40,000 illegal miners ignore Peru’s deadline to formalize status – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 23, 2014)

April 24, 2014

http://www.mining.com/

Peru’s government has began legalizing tens of thousands of informal gold miners this week, in an effort to restrict an activity that has cost the country millions of dollars in lost fees and severely damaged the environment.

However, about 40,000 of roughly 110,000 illegal miners ignored the Saturday deadline to legalize their status, evading government efforts to bring them into the formal economy.

Over the past five years unregulated mineral extraction in the South American nation, especially gold mining, became an industry of its own, to the point experts calculated it was bringing more profit into the country than drug trafficking. The activity has also led to violence, pollution and the destruction of over 40,000 hectares of the country’s Amazonic rainforest.

In response to those challenges, Peru’s government launched in 2012 a program to incorporate illegal and informal miners into the system by April 2014. Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Merino justified the measure saying Peru had reached a point of “no return” in the fight against the fly-by-night activity.

Deadly Illegal Mining Booms Below South African City of Gold – by Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg News – April 24, 2014)

April 24, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Smoke rises from a derelict mine shaft 25 miles east of Johannesburg, where illegal miners cook, work and sleep below ground for weeks at a time.

They have broken through a slab of concrete covering the entrance to the shaft, one of 6,000 abandoned mines, many around Johannesburg, known as “eGoli,” or “City of Gold” in Zulu. At least 40 unlawful prospectors have died in South Africa this year as mines collapse, workers succumb to poisonous gases and gangs wage turf wars underground.

“Any mistake and you feel you’re going to be killed,” said Joseph Sithole, 23, an undocumented Mozambican migrant, as he stood among corrugated-iron shacks and rubbish-strewn paths near the mine. He recounted how last year he dashed to one side of a shaft after hearing a crack, narrowly avoiding being buried by falling rocks. He felt his way to the surface through clouds of dust.

Sithole is one of 14,000 people the government estimates are now involved in illegal mining, which comes as a drop in gold prices and aging ore bodies shut South African shafts. The practice has grown to create a complex criminal industry valued at 6 billion rand ($566 million) a year, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said in February.

The government now plans to block up entrances to abandoned mines, compel owners to heighten security and increase convictions for illegal mining.

Ex-Goldman Banker Emerges as Barrick Gold Dealmaker – by Liezel Hill and Christopher Donville (Bloomberg News – April 22, 2014)

April 23, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

A week before Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) Chairman Peter Munk retires, his successor John Thornton is emerging as a dealmaker as the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker pursues a bid to combine the two biggest gold miners.

Negotiations between Barrick and Newmont Mining Corp. broke off last week amid minor disagreements while leaving open the possibility that discussions could still resume, two people with knowledge of the matter said April 19.

The deal under discussion would have seen Thornton become executive chairman of the combined company while the chief executive officer would have been Gary Goldberg, who currently leads Newmont, the people said. Toronto-based Barrick’s CEO Jamie Sokalsky would have led a smaller gold producer spun off from the merged company, according to the people.

The proposed tie-up and its management reshuffle confirm Thronton’s elevation as Barrick’s most senior executive. The 60-year-old, who had no role in the mining industry until he joined the company’s board just over two years ago, is set to succeed Munk, Barrick’s 86-year-old founder, as chairman at the annual shareholders meeting next week. Leading a successful acquisition of Newmont (NEM), in what would be the biggest gold takeover, would set up Barrick to do further deals, including ones involving other commodities.

[Barrick’s] Munk touts ‘significant synergies’ in potential Newmont deal – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – April 23, 2014)

April 23, 2014

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Barrick Gold Corp.’s founder and chairman Peter Munk said merging with rival Newmont Mining Corp. could result in “significant” cost savings, especially in Nevada where the two North American gold miners operate.

The world’s two largest gold producers had hoped to announce an all-stock merger deal before Newmont’s annual shareholder meeting in Delaware on Wednesday, but disagreed over which assets to spin off, sources have said. Although talks were halted late last week, the companies are still open to merging in an effort to cut costs amid the deep slump in gold prices, sources have said.

“Combining Barrick and Newmont could result in significant synergies and cost savings, particularly in Nevada, where our operations are literally next door to one another,” Mr. Munk said in an e-mailed statement.

Gold has lost more than a third of its value since peaking above $1,900 (U.S.) an ounce three years ago. The weaker precious metal price, now trading below $1,300 an ounce, has forced the gold industry to overhaul operations to preserve cash.

Hunt Becomes Billionaire on Bakken Oil After Bankruptcy – by Brendan Coffey (Bloomberg News – March 28, 2013)

April 23, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

William Herbert Hunt was once one of the wealthiest men on Earth. With his brother, Nelson Bunker Hunt, the billionaire bought more than 195 million ounces of silver — 60 percent of the U.S. market — in the 1970s. By early 1980, their stake was valued at more than $9 billion.

The Hunts’ position imploded when silver prices plummeted 80 percent over the course of a few weeks in March 1980, culminating 33 years ago this week on what traders called Silver Thursday. The crash rattled Wall Street and sent the Texas brothers into bankruptcy.

Hunt is once again a billionaire, this time with oil. In October, he sold 43 percent of the North Dakota petroleum assets owned by his closely held Petro-Hunt LLC for $1.45 billion to Houston-based Halcon Resources Corp. (HK) The cash and stock deal made Hunt Halcon’s largest shareholder and boosted his net worth to $4.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

“The numbers are out there,” said Hunt, 84, in a telephone interview from his Dallas headquarters. “We’re a family-owned company — a private company — and are really not interested in being out in the public arena.” Hunt hasn’t appeared on an international wealth ranking in 25 years. He said oil will continue to fuel the U.S. economy.

NEWS RELEASE: It’s Gold Mining, MacGyver-Style, when FOOL’S GOLD Premieres on Discovery May 13

April 22, 2014

New original Canadian series mines for gold…and for laughs!

Discovery Fool’s Gold

TORONTO (April 21, 2014) – Todd Ryznar and his ramshackle crew at Shotgun Exploration are looking to strike it rich in the gold-laden hills of Northern Ontario and retiring in style. The only problem for this start-up DIY mining company? They don’t know what they’re doing! Premiering Tuesday, May 13 with back-to-back episodes at 8 and 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery, FOOL’S GOLD follows modern-day prospector Ryznar and his ragtag gang of would-be miners in their search for gold. But first, they’ll have to figure out what to do and how to do it – after all, their search for gold won’t be easy when the main equipment is made from a rusty bed frame and a an assortment of old washing machine parts!

Commissioned by Discovery Canada and produced by Toronto’s 11 Television Canada, the humorous eight-part series joins the beleaguered Ryznar and his rookie crew – at the mine and on the town, through bug-infested days, frigid nights, and beer-fuelled weekends – as they make a hilariously haphazard foray into the world of the professional gold digger. Armed with backwoods ingenuity, perseverance, stubbornness – and little else – will their beginner’s luck be rewarded, or will their hopes be dashed?

A real estate speculator-turned-gold prospector, Ryznar purchased the Straw Lake Beach Mine near Fort Frances, Ontario in 2005. After years of failed attempts of finding gold on his own, Ryznar has convinced a hastily-assembled group of his friends to spend eight weeks in the Ontario wilderness in a single-minded search for their share of Northern Ontario’s surprisingly plentiful gold deposits.

Goldcorp Inc abandoning hostile bid for Osisko – by Peter Koven (National Post – April 22, 2014)

April 22, 2014

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Goldcorp Inc. has elected not to raise its hostile offer for Osisko Mining Corp., leaving the company to be acquired by Yamana Gold Inc. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.

Vancouver-based Goldcorp announced on Monday afternoon that it will let its $3.6-billion hostile bid for Osisko expire on April 22 instead of raising it.

Goldcorp vowed all along that it would not overpay for Osisko, and most investors suspected it would not raise its offer for a second time. Goldcorp launched its first bid in January and increased it earlier this month.

“We stated from the beginning of this process that we would remain disciplined with respect to our offer to acquire Osisko, and our decision not to amend the offer is consistent with that commitment,” chief executive Chuck Jeannes said in a statement.

“We move forward with an outstanding portfolio of mines and projects, and our focus will remain on maximizing the value of our investments and generating strong returns for our shareholders.”

Merger Talks Between Gold Giants Break Down – by Gillian Tan, Alistair MacDonald and Dana Mattioli (Wall Street Journal – April 18, 2014)

April 22, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Barrick Gold, Newmont Mining Were Said to Be in Advanced Discussions

Barrick Gold Corp. ABX.T -1.88% and Newmont Mining Corp. NEM -0.88% recently held abortive talks over a deal that would have combined the world’s two largest gold producers at a time when they are battling a sharp drop in the price of gold, according to people familiar with the matter.

The two companies had intended to announce a deal as early as Tuesday, one of the people said. They have discussed combining a number of times before, people familiar with the matter have said, and it is possible they could do so again.

The deal talks come as the companies try to adapt to lower gold prices. The precious metal’s futures fell 28% last year—their biggest annual price drop since 1981.

Prices have fallen amid moves by the Fed to wind down its efforts to stimulate the economy. The stimulus steps had been a source of support for gold, which is used by investors as a hedge against the inflation that such efforts can spark.

Osisko Mining CEO Sean Roosen lashes out at Canada’s ‘predatory’ takeover process – by Nicolas Van Praet and Peter Koven (National Post – April 17, 2014)

April 17, 2014

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

MONTREAL/TORONTO – Sean Roosen never wanted to sell Osisko Mining Corp. The chief executive of Quebec’s biggest home-grown miner has said repeatedly that Goldcorp Inc. ambushed him with a hostile offer before he even got the chance to prove what kind of money his main production asset, the Malartic gold mine, could make for investors.

So now that he’s done his duty in perhaps extracting the most he can for Osisko with a friendly $3.9-billion tag-team offer from Yamana Gold Inc. and Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., he’s lashing out at the Canadian system that led to this outcome in the first place.

“You’ve got a regulatory regime here that is set for predatory behaviour,” Mr. Roosen said in an interview Wednesday. He said rules requiring TSX-listed bidders to win approval from their own shareholders for an acquisition being paid for with a new share issue equal to more than 25% of the current float favours larger companies. “All the bigger companies basically have free range to rape and pillage.”

The mining executive certainly isn’t the first person to criticize Canada’s bidder-friendly takeover rules. A veritable hoard of high-profile people have pointed out the shortcomings of the regulatory regime, which makes it nearly certain that a company will get sold once it is put into play. But few have said it in terms quite so stark.

Osisko Mining deal leaves Vancouver’s Goldcorp out in the cold (updated) – by Craig Wong (Vancouver Sun – April 16, 2014)

April 17, 2014

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Friendly deal valued at $3.9 billion will see the gold miner acquired by Yamana Gold and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. Osisko Mining Corp. (TSX:OSK) announced a new friendly deal Wednesday valued at $3.9 billion that will see the gold miner acquired by Yamana Gold and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.

The offer for the company and its Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec tops a rival hostile bid by Goldcorp (TSX:G) that was valued at $3.6 billion or $7.65 per share.

The deal will also see Osisko shareholders receive shares in a new company that will receive a royalty on the production from Canadian Malartic and the company’s existing exploration properties as well as hold $155 million cash and the company’s Guerrero exploration project in Mexico.

Osisko president and chief executive Sean Roosen noted the first hostile offer by Goldcorp valued his company at about $2.6 billion in January. “I think that we’ve delivered a significant amount of value to shareholders,” he told a conference call with investors.