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Tagged with: PayDirt

Mar 2003 - BEE

BEE – Is the market over-reacting?

At the Indaba Conference in Cape Town from 18-20 February 2003, a very sobering perspective of the expected unrecoverable discount impact of BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) on share prices was given by a number of brokers.

Apr 2003 - “Money Pipeline”

Caught in the “Money Pipeline”

Gold companies enjoy a relatively simple method of receiving revenue from gold that they produce, since when it leaves the mine gate it is already in a salable form, that usually only requires refining to 4-9s or 0.9999. Companies are usually paid based on the price of that day that it leaves the mine gate.

May 2003 - Diamonds

Diamonds Have Been Too Hard

Diamonds, like gold, have their own allure or attraction. Phrases like “diamonds are forever” and “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, immediately spring to mind. As the hardest naturally occurring gemstone, they have a documented history of being included in crown jewels for centuries if not millennia, and the larger ones are often sold for princely sums especially if they are pink in colour.

Jun 2003 - Platinum Mines

Platinum mines do not only produce platinum

We find that a number of advisers and investors still perceive platinum companies as only producing platinum and not up to 12 different metals all from the same reef or ore zone, namely the 6 PGMs or platinum group metals of platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), ruthenium (Ru) and osmium (Os), the other 2 precious metals of gold (Au) and rarely silver (Ag), plus the 4 base metals of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co) and chrome (Cr).

Jul 2003 - FSR

Approaching FSR Likely to Affect ALL Mining and Exploration Companies

Most members of the public should by now be aware that brokers and advisers are concerned about the SOA contained in the FSR (Statement of Advice in the Financial Services Reform Act of 12 March 2002), that is in its transition period before being formally fully implemented from 12 March 2004.

Aug 2003 - Invest Outside Aust

Investing Outside of Australia Becomes Fashionable Again

The old adage for gold share investment of firstly Western Australia, then other (mainland) Australia, and then outside of Australia has changed dramatically in the past year, especially in the past 6 months. The rationale for why WA gold companies usually had twice the market cap of those in say NSW (aside from Newcrest’s revival) is that the gold orebodies in WA are perceived as being more predictable than in NSW.

Sep 2003 - Investment Decision

What is relevant when making an investment decision?

The subject of what is considered relevant when making an investment decision is extremely broad, however, for this month’s column we have focused on takeover situations and research.

Oct 2003 - China Part 2

China – Part 2 – The Chinese Gold Industry, some of its mines and exploration concepts.

Last month, we covered the basics on China, and in this section, Part 2, we have covered our impressions of the Chinese Gold Industry from a Michelago trip to its operations in China.

Nov 2003 - Nickel Price

How long can the nickel price stay about US$5/lb?

This time round, everyone could be in for a big surprise.

On 7 November 2003, the LME nickel price closed at US$12,080/t or US$5.45/lb, and the forward curve price is still above US$10,000/t or US$4.54/lb in 27 months’ time (or January 2006). In their presentation on the Junior Nickel Sector at the Paydirt Nickel Conference in Perth on 23 October 2003, Hartleys showed a comparison of nickel price forecasts from some of the major brokers which showed a general expectation of the nickel price peaking at (depending on the broker) either about US$4.25/lb in 2004, or about US$4.75/lb in 2005, before collapsing to and then remaining at about US$3.25/lb from 2006.

Jan 2004 - Platreef

Platreef is different

In late November / early December 2003 I visited the northern limb of South Africa’s Eastern Bushveld, and concluded that the northern limb appears to consist of different types of Platreef that formed when a type of Merensky reef ingested different footwall rocks over which it passed.

Feb 2004 - New Mining Frontier

CHINA - Australia’s New Mining Frontier

It seems lately that almost every week or so a new “deal” is announced between either a Canadian or an Australian company and a group in one of the Provinces of China. There have been a few recent media comments about the restrictions on geological information available for perusal in any of the recent agreements. However, based on our experiences with Michelago (MIC) we have found any required information to be available in detail.

Mar 2004 - New Mining Cycle

Just like old times as the new mining cycle increases its pace

Bobby Godsell, the MD of Anglogold commented at the INDABA 2004 Conference in Cape Town that mega mergers are over for the time being, which is probably true for the time being apart from perhaps Newcrest possibly being taken over once Telfer is in production.

May 2004 - Commodity Cycle

The Commodity Cycle is Over ! – What Already ?....

…I thought this was supposed to be a super-cycle with at least another 12 months’ to go (about every 12 to 15 years, commodities experience a super-cycle in which they rally for about 18 months’ or so).

Jun 2004 - Calais’ Coming

Are there a number of Calais’ coming – discovering Gold below 500m from surface ?

Discovering gold below 500m from surface is standard practice for the South Africans, since their sub-outcrop is typically 2.5km below surface and so the mine is from there to 4km deep. However, for Australian gold companies it is a relatively new concept.

Aug 2004 - China

Some things are relative in China

We have come across comments that Guangxi (where Michelago’s Jinya project lies) and Guizhou (where Sino Gold’s Jinfeng Project is located) are two of the poorest provinces in China.