Mysterious gold trades of 4 million ounces spur price plunge

World number two miner Rio Tinto has taken a majority stake in Ivanhoe Mines, its partner on the massive Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia, purchasing a 51% interest. A favourite stock of punters, Ivanhoe surrendered 4% in Toronto on Tuesday.

Manson Creek Resources announced Tuesday it has entered into an option with Panarc Resources to acquire a 100% interest in the Up Town Gold project located adjacent to the historic Giant mine in the Northwest Territories. Shares in the tiny TSX-V listed explorer shot up 15% on the news with almost ten times the usual number of shares changing hands.

Bloomberg reports that Russia's Polyus Gold International, owned by Mikhail Prokhorov, a Vladimir Putin rival in upcoming presidential elections, could raise us much as $1 billion as part of its planned listing and share sale in London.

A new survey out Tuesday shows South Africa’s appeal for mining investment has declined dramatically since 2006 and the country now ranks a lowly 67th out of 79 countries in the study.

Comex gold and silver futures prices made strong gains in morning trade Monday, with the February gold contract powering to a six week high of $1,679.50 an ounce, up just shy of 1% by midday. Gold is now up over 5% for the year, but still well of the record high above $1,900 hit in September.

Pan American Silver is buying Minefinders for $1.5 billion in a cash and stock deal. Markets reacted negatively to the news with Pan American today losing 8.67% of its value and falling to $22.85 a share in morning trading.

SilverCrest Mines (CVE:SVL), a gold and silver miner operating in Mexico, announced today that the inferred resources at its La Joya property increased by 424% from 24.0 million to 126.0 million silver equivalent ounces.

Bloomberg reports that Ivanplats Ltd., an Africa-focused mining company controlled by billionaire CEO Robert Friedland, may seek up to $1 billion in an IPO.

Stock in both US Gold Corp and Minera Andes charged ahead more than 7% in morning trade on Friday after announcing that their respective shareholders voted in favour of a proposed business combination. The new entity, with projects in the US, Mexico and Argentina will be named McEwen Mining and headed by industry veteran Rob McEwen.