McEwen says Gold Bar will make first pour this month

"In Malaysia, gold is a highly desirable commodity from a cultural standpoint."

The plan is to cut 40% of Pilbara drivers by 2016.

China's state-owned Minmetals enters bidding for $5.6 billion project.

The top banks and ratings agencies make their predictions.

The online black market 'Silk Road' is shut down, casting bitcoin's future in doubt.

The alleged Silk Road founder is a former academic who studied solar cells and ran a non-profit.

The miner's shares were up almost 32% at 10:45 ET in Toronto after the announcement.

Central Bank and analysts fear foreign exchange speculation is behind the sudden and steep gold demand increase.

It may be too early for private equity players to gobble up juniors or put together mega-deals, but mid-tier miners may have new investors knocking on their doors.