Video: Junior market dominated by ‘the lame, the halt and the blind,’ says Rule
Over two-thirds of today’s junior miners are essentially worthless, says resource speculator Rick Rule.
World’s No.3 gold miner AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) (JSE:ANG) said Friday it expects largest producers to put more assets up for sale soon, as they seek to sustain margins in light of a forecast slump in gold prices.
Speaking to Bloomberg News, the company’s VP Graham Ehm said as the precious metal is seen more likely to decline than to advance beyond $1,400 an ounce, “portfolio rationalization” will continue to happen.
A recent PwC study showed the gold sector lost US$110 billion off its market capitalization last year. It was also the hardest hit by plunging commodity prices, as gold suffered the largest annual drop since 1981, forcing miners to writedown $27 billion of assets.
To reduce risk, many companies have cut costs in several ways. Some have decreased capital spending, while others have sold off assets and placed exploration on standby.
With operations across 10 countries, Bloomberg said the South Africa-based miner might consider selling a few assets, including Obuasi in Ghana, Sadiola in Mali or Colombia’s La Colosa.
Comments
James Bond
I am surprised that more people in the investment community are not asking more questions about La Colosa and AGAs assets in Colombia. They have booked the ounces on the board but they are many years away from ever having the mines in production and if the keep pissing off the communities and the Colombian government these assets will never be producing. But I am sure that they already know that.