Why doesn’t gold get the respect it deserves?

A freeze on licenses to explore for minerals is no small matter in Mongolia, a country undergoing a huge resources boom, as miners such as Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto (RIO) and the Chinese-backed Shenhua Group compete for the right to extract coal, copper, gold, molybdenum, and uranium. It is a resource play that is expected to bring a flood of money into the impoverished country over the next decade, centered around huge mining projects such as the Shivee Ovoo and Tavan Tolgoi coal reserves, estimated to be worth $300 billion and $400 billion, respectively, and the copper and gold mine Oyu Tolgoi, worth some $300 billion. (Image is of the Nadaam Festival, traditional Mongolian wrestling in Central Mongolia. Photograph by Oksana Perkins taken on July 10, 2009 / Shutterstock.com.)

After a weekend of stalled debt talks, gold rose sharply and hit a Monday morning high of $1,623 an oz before drifting lower. Lawmakers in the U.S.A. spent the weekend trying to resolve negotiations to raise the debt limit and reduce the nation's long-term debt. The Republican-led House of Representatives is holding out for a one-year deal with no tax increases. The Democrats want to see a mix of cuts and higher taxes, along with a deal that will pushes any future debt ceiling negotiations beyond the next election cycle.

Gold held steady below USD 1,600 on Friday, after the euro zone leaders reached an agreement on a Greece bailout plan, but prices are expected to be rangebound as investors keep an eye on the progress made in US debt talks. Euro zone leaders agreed at an emergency summit on Thursday to give their financial rescue fund sweeping new powers to help Greece overcome its debt crisis and prevent market instability from spreading through the region.

China, which became the world’s largest gold producer since in 2007, retained its position again in 2010 by mining 340.88 tonnes, up 8.57 percent year on year, the China Gold Association said Sunday. Increases in gold output will help China hedge against financial risks and inflation, as well as maintain economic security, the association said.

Commodities finished higher with crude oil erasing early losses and ending just shy of $100 a barrel. Gold futures advanced to near record territory, trading above $1,600 an ounce.

Africa's biggest gold miner AngloGold Ashanti said on Friday it would acquire a 19.79 percent stake in Canadian gold and uranium producer First Uranium Corp for $30 million. AngloGold said it would buy the stake, which consists of 47 million shares and priced at $0.64 a share, from South Africa's Village Main Reef Gold Mining.

Kalgoorlie Mining Company ( ASX: KMC ) has been granted de-watering approval for the Bullant Gold Mine from the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. is studying further expansion of mining and milling operations at Morenci, the company said today as it announced that its second-quarter profit doubled.

According to a new report by Business Monitor International Russia's mining sector is set to grow slowly over the forecast period to 2015, marking a reversal of the declining output seen since 2006. Business Monitor forecasts the value of the mining sector to reach US$259bn in 2015 from US$134bn in 2010, marking an annual average growth rate of 2.6%.