TOP STORIES
South Africa's ANC Rejects Mine Nationalization, Wants Bigger State Mining Firm
MIDRAND, South Africa--South Africa's ruling African National
Congress didn't adopt mine nationalization at a major policy
conference this week, but said Friday it wanted to see more
involvement by its state mining company.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Gold-Coin Sales Plummet in Second Quarter - U.S. Mint
NEW YORK--U.S. appetite for gold bullion, a traditional
safe-haven investment, fell to its lowest quarterly level in four
years, the U.S. Mint said.
Shanta Gold Full Year 2011 Pretax Loss Widens, Positioned Well For First Gold Pour
LONDON-- Shanta Gold Ltd. (SHG.LN), a gold producer with
operations in Tanzania, recorded Friday a widening full-year pretax
loss and said it is well positioned as it approaches its first gold
pour.
Avocet Mining Sees 2012 Gold Production Down Due to Inata Mine Issues
LONDON--Avocet Mining PLC (AVM.LN) said Friday that, following
lower-than-expected gold production for the year to date and a
reassessment of mining for the remainder of the year, it now
expects its gold production for 2012 to decline to between 135,000
and 140,000 ounces from 160,000 ounces.
2nd UPDATE: St. Barbara, Allied Gold Plan to Merge Into a $1 Billion Miner
SYDNEY--Gold producers St. Barbara Ltd. (SBM.AU) and Allied Gold
Mining PLC (ALD.AU) said Friday they plan to form a AUD1 billion
(US$1 billion) mid-tier mining company via a merger, which is set
to be the biggest such deal in the domestic gold-mining sector
since late 2010.
MARKETS
PRECIOUS METALS: EU Relief Catapults Gold, Silver Higher
NEW YORK--Silver futures rose 5.1% Friday, while gold retook the
$1,600 level, as investors cheered surprising signs of progress in
Europe's battle to contain its bank crisis.
Write to Tatyana Shumsky at tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com.