Gold Mining M&A

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The Gold Mining Stocks are still Cheap

It has been just one month since I stated on King World News that the gold mining stocks had begun a new bull market.  The XAU Index of mining stocks closed that day at a new record high of 206.79.  It closed yesterday at 220.17, up 6.5% over this period.

That is a tremendous gain in such a short period of time.  But do not let that spectacular performance keep you from buying and accumulating my recommended mining stocks.  They remain good value, as is clear from the following chart that measures the XAU Index in terms of gold.

What the above chart is saying is that:

1) The last sell signal in the mining stocks was given in early 1997, which coincides with the huge bubble surrounding Bre-X.  Since then, the mining stocks have been closer to the buying area, and not even near the selling area.  This means that the best strategy over this period is the one I have been recommending, namely, pursuing the ongoing accumulation of mining stocks because you are buying stocks that are undervalued.

2) Gold has outperformed the XAU Index this decade, which is another way of saying that the mining stocks were in a bear market.  Their bear market began with the collapse of Bre-X and ended with the collapse of Lehman Brothers.  The mining stocks suffered badly in the liquidity squeeze arising in the aftermath of the Lehman collapse, and we saw a classic selling climax.  The mining stocks were driven to a low level never before experienced.

3) Since the 2008 selling climax, the XAU Index has been climbing.  But importantly, as the above chart illustrates, the XAU Index is still well within the buying area.  Therefore, the gold mining stocks are still cheap, and so are the silver stocks, some of which are included in the XAU Index.

I therefore continue to recommend the ongoing accumulation of mining stocks because you are buying stocks that are undervalued.  Those values will eventually be realized and rewarded with higher prices as the precious metals make new highs, which in turn will continue to draw more money into the sector. 

The bull market in mining stocks is barely one month old.  I expect the XAU Index will be moving higher for three to five more years.

James Turk

Free Gold Money Report

Article originally published by the Free Gold Money Report.

James Turk is the founder of the Free Gold Money Report and of GoldMoney.com. He is also the co-author of The Coming Collapse of the Dollar (www.dollarcollapse.com).. Copyright ©  by James Turk.  All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved.
Edited by James Turk

This material is prepared for general circulation and may not have regard to the particular circumstances or needs of any specific person who reads it. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representations or warranty, express or implied, is made as to its accuracy, completeness or correctness. All opinions and estimates contained in this report reflect the writer's judgement as of the date of this report, are subject to change without notice and are provided in good faith but without legal responsibility.

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Geordie Mark: Uranium and Mining Stocks Recovering

Geordie Mark: Uranium and Mining Stocks RecoveringUranium has been radioactive for investors who have stayed away in droves since the metal crashed into a prolonged slide beginning in early 2007. Now in a cautious recovery mode from multiyear lows, Haywood Securities Senior Analyst Geordie Mark says a rising uranium price is the driver for select mining companies. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Geordie discusses uranium demand and brings some specific ideas to the table for investors.

The Energy Report: Between the first quarter of 2009 and the first half of 2010, uranium tested $40 on the downside about three times. Has it found solid support? Also, what minimum level does it need to maintain for companies to be profitable?

Geordie Mark: That's a very good question. Certainly it has had a lot of technical support at $40 with a lot of buying strength coming in at that level. I'd say there's been even more buying strength recently. So that's a lot of strength. For the ultimate strength of investment health of this sector, I think we're looking at numbers north of $65. In fact, it would probably have to be higher than that to warrant risking venture capital for exploration. Also, you need to see higher prices for investment in large-scale, leveraged development-stage projects. Spot is now around $52, and we see positive movement there in terms of pricing with the long-term price at $60.

TER: You see positive movement, but it sounds like mining uranium is risky now. Is that right?

GM: Yes, mining does have technical risk. That's correct. As part of an offset to that, the projects we see going into production, certainly over the next year or so, are the lower-cost projects involving lower capital expenditure for development. Those are called in-situ recovery operations and they have a low-cost basis. So you're looking at cash costs of $30 per pound or less. They are the ones that can accommodate the current commodity price, but not the larger-scale projects requiring significant injection of capital. That's why we've seen delays in that development pipeline; $40 spot prices make it difficult to justify large, higher-cost projects. However, in our view, we do need those larger projects to sustain increasing demand.

TER: On a percentage basis, why has uranium lagged other metals? What market pressures have put downward pressure on the metal?

GM: Well, this year and late last year we actually saw a significant increase in production—probably larger than anticipated—out of Kazakhstan, which had a massive run from about 19 million pounds (Mlb.) in 2008 to about 36 Mlb. of production in 2009. With that continuing, we expect +40 Mlb. this year.

That really put a blanket on the uranium price for the first seven months of 2010 and moved it down to lows close to $40. But over the last few months, we have seen a 20% increase in the spot price.

From the low $40s to today, where it's about $52, we've seen an increase and a recovery in the price that has been a response to production shortfalls from some of the larger mines. For instance, both the Ranger uranium mine operated by Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. (ASX:ERA) and BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (NYSE:BHP; OTCPK:BHPLF) Olympic Dam experienced production shortfalls. These miners have had to buy material on the market to meet contracts. So production shortfalls have offset some of the production expansion coming out of Kazakhstan. We're seeing that balance swing a little bit more to the demand side in 2010.

TER: Are there any companies in your universe that are involved in the Kazakhstan projects?

GM: None in our universe. Obviously, the main one there is Uranium One Inc. (TSX:UUU). Cameco Corp. (NYSE:CCJ; TSX:CCO) and AREVA (PAR:CEI) have operations there also, but we don't cover those formally.

TER: Geordie, you explained how Kazakhstan production put a blanket on the price of uranium and dropped it down to about $40, and that it has now rebounded to $52 due to expected production shortfalls in Australia and elsewhere. Going forward, would you expect to see big price swings when one mine increases production and another decreases it?

GM: Broadly speaking, we see nearer-term market equilibrium with buying strength coming out of China as it builds strategic working inventory for future nuclear requirements. So that buying strength provides underlying support if larger projects were to produce more than expected. Alternatively, pricing pressure could be experienced more so if there were appreciable production shortfalls.

TER: So if one major mine increases production, it could more than satisfy the demand here?

GM: Well the point, in terms of Kazakhstan, is that it has multiple smaller-scale mines rather than one big mine. The large-scale mines that could have a significant or material impact just by themselves, such as Cameco's Cigar Lake, could furnish significant amounts of material on the market. But while Cameco is thinking that Cigar Lake will come into play, ramp-up and begin production in 2013, it's not really going to make a material impact until about 2017. So we think there's certainly some pricing pressure coming around 2012–2013.

TER: What's going to drive capital into this market?

GM: Ultimately, I think prices are expected to increase right along with demand. However, in terms of one of the components of the uranium sector, the nuclear sector will drive the material and incremental change in demand through the number of reactors that have gone into construction over the last 24 months.

In the last two years, the number of reactors that have entered into construction has increased 61%. Also over that time period, there's been a 54% increase in the number of reactors planned and a 45% increase in the number of reactors proposed. These are largely in non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, so we're looking outside North America.

We're also getting something of a sea change in views on existing reactor fleets, certainly from Europe, where we're seeing policy changes to extend reactor fleet lives. So we're seeing new demand, but we're also seeing extension of demand from existing reactor fleets in countries in Europe, including Germany, Sweden and Belgium. Also, the UK is looking at additional reactors. So significant changes in demand are taking place, but it does take a long time to get a project through the development curve. Therefore, we think there are opportunities for the development projects that can reach production in the next two, three or four years.

TER: Geordie, how does an investor play these ideas, and why?

GM: Our view at Haywood is based on increasing demand and our belief that commodity prices are going to increase. Our estimation is that, of all the companies, Uranium Participation Corp. (TSX:U) has the best correlation to changes in uranium price. It is unlevered, so it does trade quite closely to uranium price changes. There's a strong relationship there—that's the rationale. In an increasing commodity price environment, the value of the inventory held by Uranium Participation increases.

TER: So the fund is correlated with the uranium price?

GM: Exactly. The value of the company, then, is based largely on two things. One is the value of the inventory, which is obviously commodity-price driven. And two is a market sentiment component—where the market thinks the direction of the commodity price is going.

TER: Other ideas?

GM: Paladin Energy Ltd. (TSX:PDN; ASX:PDN) is the only uranium producer out there globally that isn't related to a major company or partnered with a utility. So there aren't any relationships there. It's got a good production growth profile in our view. We think the company will grow something on the order of 6.8 Mlb. this year, and then go beyond that to maybe 8.3 Mlb. next year. Paladin's got a good track record, in terms of bringing mines on, and a good growth trajectory at its African mines.

Strateco Resources Inc. (TSX:RSC) has the Matoush deposit, which in our view is very attractive—20 million pounds of almost 0.6% uranium. Those are high grades; and it is probably the most advanced development-stage project in Canada outside of AREVA and Cameco. There is also resource expansion potential. CEO Guy Hébert is doing a good job in trying to migrate through the permitting process. It's a nice scale of resource, and I think it's attractive with good growth potential.

TER: I understand that will be the first uranium production license issued by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in 25 years. Has that license been issued; and, if so, what's the significance of it being the first one in 25 years?

GM: Well, it hasn't been issued. We think Strateco is the most advanced along in the permitting path. Obviously, it would be a huge shot in the arm, in terms of meeting the very high standards that the regulators provide in Canada, and would speak volumes about management.

TER: On Bannerman Resources Limited (TSX:BAN; ASX:BMN), you have a target price that would give an investor about 200% return on investment from today's levels. What's the driver here?

GM: Bannerman has the Etango Project in Namibia, which is very large with more than 160 Mlb. Effectively, it's the most leveraged play we have under coverage in the uranium sector; so it does have the upside. It's a great country and a handsome resource, but it would be one of the more expensive producers in our coverage universe. We see significant appreciation in the uranium price over the next few years, implying a significant return for Bannerman.

TER: Do weak currencies in Australia and other uranium-producing countries portend risk for investors?

GM: Yes, currency exposure is obviously a risk on margin. But it can also be an opportunity, in terms of having lower-cost production due to operations being based in a country with a weaker currency. So it definitely depends on whether you're able to hedge some of your costs in that currency. But yes, I think we've seen that over the last month or so given the changes in the relative strength of currencies against the U.S. dollar. You do get a gain or atrophy in margins. That works for any commodity.

TER: You've got very favorable upside on Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE:URG; TSX:URE). How is that one interesting for you?

GM: Ur-Energy, and let's bring Uranerz Energy Corporation (TSX:URZ; NYSE.A:URZ) into the fold here just for a second. They hold two of the in-situ recovery projects in Wyoming that we believe have a good likelihood of wining permitting approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). We're looking at that to come to fruition, probably this quarter.

When we came into the uranium sector three years ago, we looked at where we thought the next uranium producers were going to come from—and we didn't have to look far. In fact, we thought they'd all come from the U.S. The first new production in the world is expected to come from Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE.A:UEC), which we think will commence sometime in the next four weeks. That's in Texas. After that, I think Uranerz and Ur-Energy will be, due to the small capex and lower operating cost for the projects.

Back to Ur-Energy, specifically, it has some very handsome projects in its Lost Creek and Lost Soldier deposits, and we think the company has a very good cash position to get it very close to production without having to raise additional equity. So, good projects, great technical team, good cash position—that's why we like Ur-Energy. Same thing goes for Uranerz at Wyoming's Powder River Basin. It also has a very good management team.

TER: Given the demand you outlined, regarding a sea change in coming uranium demand, is there a first-mover advantage for UEC in taking market share or better pricing?

GM: UEC, potentially, could gain better pricing. I think if the company could show, technically, that it could bring things into production and reach milestones, it would get first-mover status. That will help it going forward. UEC's technical team has a lot of history in Texas, and it's been able to do this many times in terms of bringing operations into production. So, absolutely, it has a very good track record with its technical team, and we're looking forward to seeing what UEC does.

TER: You've got a nice 30% upside target price on Extract Resources Ltd. (TSX:EXT; ASX:EXT). What is driving that?

GM: Well, Extract's been an outstanding company to follow for the last few years due to its discovery of Rössing South deposit in Namibia. That, in our view, is one of the best discoveries in the uranium sector in the last 30 years. It's a massive resource, with +300 Mlb., and it is 6 km. away from the existing mine operated by Rio Tinto Ltd. (ASX:RIO). So Extract has proximity to existing facilities and existing infrastructure in Namibia—the fourth largest uranium producer that has been producing uranium for more than 30 years. The company will have its feasibility study completed by the end of the year. So we think it's in a very good position there to go forward.

TER: You also follow Denison Mines Corp. (TSX:DML; NYSE.A:DNN), which has had a good run-up during the past year.

GM: I think there's a little bit of market expectation running in there behind the spot price movement, but also a release on the Phoenix Zone resource somewhere on the order of 50–70 Mlb. The company's looking to release that resource in November. With increases in the spot price, we see particular potential for Denison to have significant changes in cash flow. I think there is a lot of interest in its very attractive deposit at Wheeler River in Athabasca, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company's had some outstanding results so far in its drilling program.

TER: Are there some new uranium miners out there we haven't discussed that really excite you?

GM: We certainly track exploration-stage companies that we don't cover formally, and we have them in our Junior Exploration Report. For instance, last quarter we published a report that included Rockgate Capital Corp. (TSX:RGT) and Southern Andes Energy Inc. (TSX:SUR), formerly Solex Resources Corp., which has Peruvian assets. South America seems to be heating up in terms of exploration. Rockgate is another African exploration-/development-stage asset based in the Republic of Mali that we're following quite closely.

TER: Are these interesting because of the geographical regions or because you have a better understanding of the actual resource or potential resource they're looking at?

GM: Well, we couple everything in there; but, ultimately, you have to have something in the ground that looks interesting as a resource. Then you look at the environment—both the political and economic environment. But certainly the resource is first. You have to look at the geological potential of a project initially.

TER: Geordie, who are your buy-side clients? Are they small-, mid- or large-cap mutual funds? Who are they mainly?

GM: Our clients represent a whole range—small cap all the way up to very large. Their requirements relate to different investment objectives, of course, and to different sized companies within the uranium sector.

TER: Thank you.

Dr. Geordie Mark, a research analyst with Haywood Securities, focuses principally on uranium companies involved in exploration, development and production. He joined Haywood Securities from the junior exploration sector, where he was vice president of exploration for Cash Minerals, which concentrated on uranium and iron oxide-copper-gold targets across Canada. Immediately prior to joining the exploration industry full-time, Dr. Mark lectured in economic geology at Monash University, Australia and served as an industry consultant. He completed his PhD in geology in 1998 at James Cook University's Economic Geology Research Unit in Australia, specializing in aqueous geochemistry and igneous petrology applied to ore-forming systems.

Want to read more exclusive Energy Report interviews like this? Sign up for our free e-newsletter, and you'll learn when new articles have been published. To see a list of recent interviews with industry analysts and commentators, visit our Expert Insights page.

The Energy Report

Receive 24hGold's Daily Market Briefing in your inbox. Go here to subscribe or unsubscribe.Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. It is not intended to constitute individual investment advice and is not designed to meet your personal financial situation. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are subject to change without notice. The information herein may become outdated and there is no obligation to update any such information. The author, 24hGold, entities in which they have an interest, family and associates may from time to time have positions in the securities or commodities discussed. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the written consent of the author. Disclaimer

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Mining Stocks, Silver Set for Short-Term Correction

Mining Stocks, Silver Set for Short-Term CorrectionWhether you call it a recession, or depression, or deflation, or recovery, for tens of millions of Americans, there’s little difference. With the Mid-term elections upon us the odds are that the voters might make the new Congress more conservative.

Generally, it is believed that a more conservative government might lean towards self-control in spending (yeah, right), restraint in Keynesian stimulus policies, which means moderating the quantitative easing.

In the short term that could be good for the dollar and a near-term risk for gold. As the inflation worries could cease for some time, which would help the dollar and at the same time it could cause gold's gleam to fade temporarily as some people would believe that the inflationary period is over.

And then there is the so-called Presidential Election Year Cycle to take into consideration. The theory is based on the powerful incentives presidents have to get the economy looking ship-shape at the time of the next election. In other words, immediately after assuming office, presidents take whatever tough economic measures are necessary in order to set the stage for the recovery and good times. The tendency is for the market to outperform in the 3rd year after the election of the president.

Historical data seems to provide strong support for this theory.

Of course one could argue that the government's stimulus program in effect turned last year into the de facto equivalent of the third year of a president's term. What will happen next depends on how much longer and further the government will extend its stimulus. We believe that any quantitative easing and the printing of new dollars will only make precious metals a more attractive investment

Silver

This week’s long-term chart for silver shows that the recent daily price increase has been accompanied by huge volume (charts courtesy by http://stockcharts.com.)  Note that in the past, when a spike was seen in daily trading volume above the 20M level, a price decline followed shortly thereafter in five of the six examples seen since the beginning of 2009. Such a volume level has been seen in recent days (marked with red and black arrows) and for this reason, a sharp decline in the coming days will not be very surprising and is, in fact, expected.

Based on past trends for similar length rallies, there is a good chance we will see a sharp decline in silver’s price very soon given volume this big. A likely target level for this decline will be in the $20 to $21 range for the SLV ETF, slightly higher than we have stated last week.

There are few bullish signals at this time except for silver’s price action itself. The bearish influences of the USD and the general stock market cannot be overlooked. As we stated in our pre-update message this week, “Silver is two days after its “close to the top” territory and slightly above the level created as target based on post-breakout-rallies. The deviations are not big enough for us to consider them as invalidating points made earlier.”

Mining Stocks

The XAU Index relates to gold and silver mining stocks and has many, many years of history. It is an important factor to consider because of its long-term resistance level - perfectly visible on the chart above. In recent days, the XAU Index approached its profound 2008 high. This is an important development especially in view of the rapid rise seen in mining stocks' prices recently (from the long-term point of view).

Two important declining resistance lines have been broken and will likely provide support in the not-too-distant future - they are marked with black thin lines on the chart above. Additionally, the lower border of the rising trend channel could coincide with one of the abovementioned resistance lines, close to the 170 level. It seems likely that a period of consolidation will be seen soon as the 2008 high level appears likely to provide strong resistance.

Indications from this chart have strong bearish implications in short term, even considered apart from other signals.

The past week saw gold mining stocks surpass their 2008 high but they did not get much above this level and thus this breakout is not really significant yet. The performance of gold itself was much stronger and on Thursday the mining stocks actually declined on a day when gold prices moved higher. Anomalies such as this are often seen around local tops and this is yet another sign supporting the likelihood that gold’s rally may be coming to a close.

Summing up, multiple signs point to a consolidation period in the near-term for mining stocks. This is consistent with expectations in the gold and silver markets.

At Sunshine Profits we are constantly researching and creating new tools to help investors maximize profits. This week, Subscribers got a sneak preview of our useful new charts on stock options expirations. With stock options expiring on the 3rd Friday each month, Subscribers focused on daily trades can greatly benefit from these charts. This new tool is of even more significance - we’d even go so far as to say, a whole lot more significant - for shot term traders in mining stocks options.

To make sure that you are notified once the new features are implemented, and get immediate access to my free thoughts on the market, including information not available publicly, I urge you to sign up for my free e-mail list. Sign up today and you'll also get free, 7-day access to the Premium Sections on my website, including valuable tools and charts dedicated to serious PM Investors and Speculators. It's free and you may unsubscribe at any time.

Thank you for reading. Have a great and profitable week!

Przemyslaw Radomski

Editor, www.sunshineprofits.com

Receive 24hGold's Daily Market Briefing in your inbox. Go here to subscribe or unsubscribe.Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. It is not intended to constitute individual investment advice and is not designed to meet your personal financial situation. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are subject to change without notice. The information herein may become outdated and there is no obligation to update any such information. The author, 24hGold, entities in which they have an interest, family and associates may from time to time have positions in the securities or commodities discussed. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the written consent of the author. Disclaimer

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Gold Mining Stocks Trendpower

The TrendPower is a technical indicator created and developed by 24hGold.  It is based on a scale from -50 to +50, and it aims to measure the strength of a movement on a short to  medium term range (from 1 up to 3 months).

The higher the TrendPower (up to 50) the more powerful the movement.

Caution : the TrendPower is not a trading tool, but an indicator to help determine an entry point. You will find here at the bottom of this page a few representations of this indicator.

Gold Mining Stocks Trendpower

     -   This is a live panel, calculations are made at every move of a stock

-         Just click on a company name to go to its profile.

-         The TrendPower is the last column on the right before “News”, and you can enlarge the page by clicking on “Author” at the right hand corner of this page.

Some examples :

1- TrendPower reaches +50: trend at its maximum power

2- TrendPower between 0 and 50: trend in acceleration

3- TrendPower at 0: neutral trend

4- TrendPower reaches -15: trend in deceleration (beginning of turnaround)

5- TrendPower reaches -50: trend in sharp deceleration (falling turnaround highly probable)

The TradePower can also be represented as a gauge ranging between -50 and +50

All of our mining sector technical analysis tools : click here

All our our fundamental analysis tools : click here

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Orosur MIning moves into profit as <b>gold price</b> spikes and costs <b>...</b>

Full Orosur Mining profile here

Orosur Mining Inc. is a gold producer and exploration company focused on identifying and developing gold projects in Latin America. The Company is a fully integrated mining company, possessing the skills necessary to explore and develop its discoveries. The Company operates the only producing gold mine in Uruguay (San Gregorio), and has assembled an exploration portfolio of high quality assets in Uruguay,Chile and Argentina.

Cash costs at the San Gregorio mine in Uruguay are falling

South America focused gold miner Orosur Mining (LON:OMI, TSX-V:OMI) moved decisively into profit during the first quarter of the financial year thanks to a sharp rise in the value of the precious metal.

The company, which has operations in Uruguay and Chile, posted net income of US$3.5 million for the three months to August 31 compared with a loss of US$2.16 million a year earlier.

Cash costs from its only gold producing asset – the San Gregorio open pit in Uruguay – fell to US$839 an ounce from US$880, while production was steady at 12,937 ounces.

The average price the company received for its gold production jumped to US$1,216 an ounce from US$912.

Orosur has almost US$11 million of cash – up from US$8.7 million a year ago – which means it has the funds to finance its current exploration programme.

Production costs will tumble significantly once the company brings into production the Arenal Deeps project, adjacent to San Gregorio.

The Arenal Deeps feasibility study, carried out by Amec, is a conservative assessment of the cash costs (US$545 per ounce) and the gold payable (135,000 ounces in total) and doesn’t take account of the silver that will be mined.

However the real excitement is provided by the Chilean properties acquired as part of the Fortune Valley deal.

Chief among them is the Pantanillo project that comprises 11,750 of hectares optioned from Anglo-American.

It is located in the Maricunga Belt, an area rich in gold which is home to 60 million ounces of the metal.

First phase drilling has defined a maiden JORC resource of 1.05 million ounces at Pantanillo Norte,  a small part of the total exploration area, and a second phase aims to build on this early impressive progress. 

“Right now we have targeted the oxidized and mixed portion of the deposit and have confirmed (a resource of) 1 million. 

“(Former owners) Kinross and Anglo were heading for two or three, so we will keep  going and our objective of the next drilling campaign is to evaluate the deeper sulphide mineralisation which we believe is a significant exploration target” Ignacio Salazar, the company’s chief financial officer, said in a recent interview with Proactive Investors. 

A scoping study on Pantanillo began in June and will be completed by the end of the year.

“The study will look at the project and what we want to get from Pantanillo - whether we will concentrate on the oxide, or go for something bigger,” Salazar said.

A programme due to get underway by the end of the year will look also at other areas on the Pantanillo  property.

Orosur has another Chilean project, Anillo, which is next to Yamana’s El Penon gold-silver mine, which produces 400,000 gold equivalent ounces a year.

Outside that, the group is investigating potential high grade porphyry targets at Incahausi in Chile. Meanwhile, earlier this month the exploration “resulted in positive drill intercepts at Vaca Muerta in Uruguay.

“In summary, operations are well on track, exploration has been delivering both in Uruguay and Chile, and financing in the medium term can be covered with cash flow from operations and debt due to the strong gold price and the result of the cost savings efforts,” chief executive David Fowler told investors today.

“Looking forward, drilling will continue in Vaca Muerta, Pantanillo and Anillo and other targets during the fiscal year and the board will within the next month review and decide on Arenal Deeps."

Register here to be notified of future Orosur Mining articles.

The junior gold miner hit a new 12-month high on London’s AIM market today. The stock has now doubled in value since the start of September. Orosur has been transformed over the past year, and these latest drill results provide further evidence of its expansion in South America.

Orusur Mining's Uruguay gold production is the cash machine to finance development of the Arenal Deeps and Pantanillo projects. Even after the spectacular performance of late, the stock is trading below the level it was a year ago – yet the company’s prospects have changed beyond recognition.

Engineer AMEC has begun work on a feasibility study that should be complete by the end of September at the latest. Fowler confirms that ‘development of this resource is expected to progressively reduce cash costs and extend mine life’.

Stratex shares have advanced over 40% in recent weeks, and this new farm-out deal with an international mining major is likely to stir up further interest in the AIM-listed gold junior. An AngloGold subsidiary has invested US$500,00o into Stratex and it can earn up to 70% of the Afar project in Ethiopia and Djibouti.

We look at the rapid progress being made by the company at Tulu Kapi, in Ethiopia, which has the capacity to become a world class gold project.

When the movers and shakers of mining and finance meet under one roof it can mean just one thing: the FINEX 2010 conference is about to get into full swing. Here we preview the event, which takes place on October 27 and 28 at the Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, and pick out some of the highlights.

The gold explorer has been trading strongly as interest surrounding its new Saudi Arabian venture hots up. Unveiling plans for a £625,000 cash call, managing director Jeffrey Rayner also gave a particularly bullish assessment of the company's prospects.

As you will see from our coverage earlier, Pan African is offloading a fringe asset in Ghana. Here we look at the company's transformation from promising junior to cash generating gold producer, which has seen it step up in class.

Cluff Gold's transformation from junior explorer to profitable, cash generating gold producer was underlined by a strong set of interim results today. The update also revealed the company's founder, Algy Cluff, is to relinquish the role of CEO and cede day-to-day control of the business to COO Peter Spivey.

Trading in Solomon Gold (LON:SOLG) reached fever pitch on London’s AIM market after the group revealed its Fauro Island Project has the potential to be a world class deposit.

Solomon Gold topped the London Stock Exchange leaderboard today, with its shares still up 62% at midday after the company announced that assay results from sampling on its wholly owned Fauro Island project indicated a world class gold deposit.

With established expertise in Turkey, and a rapidly growing awareness of both precious and base metals potential in Saudi Arabia, Kefi Minerals are well placed to go places.

The 2010 drilling programme is designed to expand on Olcha's maiden JORC resource and initial results demonstrate the project's significant potential. According to Davy's resource analyst Job Langbroek, the latest grades ‘comfortably achieve commercial status’.

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