Hedge funds slash bullish wagers on gold before war jitters
Speculators have reduced net-long positions by 3.6%.
Shares in Skeena Resources Limited (TSX.V:SKE) jumped 6% on Thursday after the company announced additional drill results from 13 holes at its Snip gold project located in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia.
In lunchtime trade the Vancouver-based junior was exchanging hands for $0.74, up 10.4% on the TSX Venture Exchange, in more than double usual volumes. Skeena is now worth $53 million in Toronto.
In a statement Skeena highlighted several drill holes at its 100%-owned Snip property in the northwest of the Canadian province including 9.26 g/t Gold over 11.85m:
• UG17-027: 74.35 g/t Au over 2.00 metres
• UG17-033: 77.41 g/t Au over 1.10 metres
• UG17-034: 26.28 g/t Au over 2.03 metres
• UG17-034: 7.48 g/t Au over 6.35 metres
• UG17-035: 19.26 g/t Au over 11.85 metres
• UG17-035: 11.21 g/t Au over 5.95 metres
• UG17-036: 35.49 g/t Au over 4.35 metres
The Snip mine produced roughly 1m ounces of gold from 1991 until 1999 at eye-popping grades of 27.5 g/t
Skeena acquired the past-producing Snip mine from world number one gold miner Barrick Gold in July last year through an option agreement after spending $2m at Snip. Barrick retains a 1% smelter royalty and can also buy back a controlling stake should Skeena delineate more than 2 million ounces of gold.
The property consists of one mining lease and four mineral tenures totaling approximately 1,932 hectares in the Liard Mining Division.The Snip mine produced roughly 1m ounces of gold from 1991 until 1999 at eye-popping grades of 27.5 g/t according to the company’s website.
It’s been a busy few months for Skeena.
Barrick injected $1m cash into the company in December and the Toronto giant also granted Skeena an option on another past-producing property located in the Golden Triangle, Eskay Creek.
Discovered in 1988, the former Eskay Creek mine produced approximately 3.3 million ounces of gold and 160 million ounces of silver at average grades of 45 g/t gold and 2,224 g/t silver and was once the world’s highest-grade gold mine and fifth-largest silver mine by volume.
Gold futures were trading near a 4-month high of $1,324.70 on Thursday, up 7% over the past month as the metal shakes off concerns about interest rate increases in the US drawing investors away from the sector.
