Russia’s Gokhran has bought only gold this year

Has world top gold miner, Barrick Gold, given up on its principles to remain predominantly a gold producer? While the copper content of Barrick's business has been growing in recent years as the acquisition and development of some of its biggest new gold projects involve the co-mining of copper from big gold/copper porphyry type orebodies, today's announced agreement to acquire copper miner Equinox seems designed to move it even more into the polymetallic production space.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX)(TSX:ABX) ("Barrick" or "the Company") announced today that it has entered into a support agreement with Equinox Minerals Limited (TSX:EQN)(ASX:EQN)("Equinox") for Barrick to acquire, through an all-cash offer, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Equinox (including the shares represented by Equinox's CHESS Depositary Interests) by way of a friendly take-over offer (the "Offer"). The Offer is for C$8.15 per Equinox share in cash, or a total of approximately C$7.3 billion. The Offer represents a 30% premium based on Equinox's closing share price on the Toronto Stock Exchange on February 25, 2011 (the last trading day before Equinox announced its intention to make a take-over bid for the common shares of Lundin Mining Corporation).

Mid-tier gold miner Iamgold's quarterly gold production rose 41 percent on strong performance at its largest assets, the Rosebel mine in Suriname and Essakane mine in Burkina Faso. Toronto-based Iamgold, which also has mines in Canada, South America and Africa, said gold production came in at 290,000 attributable ounces at a cash cost of $570 to $580 per ounce.

Rescuers and heavy equipment are picking through the debris in hopes of finding more survivors after a landslide thundered down a mountainside in the Philippines on Good Friday. The avalanche of mud hit the mining village of Panganason around 2:30 am Friday morning, according to a story posted on Inquirer.net. Clad in orange suits, the rescuers sifted through the rubble in the hope of adding more survivors—15 so far—plucked from the mud and rocks. But 21 people remained unaccounted for, according to Maj. Jake Obligado, commanding officer of the 71st Infantry Battalion.

Academy-award winning director, actor and environmental activist, Robert Redford, Thursday became the latest face of those opposed to the development of the massive Pebble copper-gold mining project near Bristol Bay in Alaska. In a blog published on the Huffington Post political website, Redford claimed, "I am not against mining. I am against putting mega-mines where they don't belong."

Newstrike Capital Inc. (TSX-V:NES) is pleased to announce additional drill results from the company's 100%-owned Ana Paula Project, Guerrero Gold Belt (GGB), Mexico. The reported drill holes represent a cross section of targets from ongoing widely spaced step out and infill drilling that continues to intercept gold mineralization over multiple mineralized horizons.

The cost of developing the huge Wafi-Golpu gold-copper project in PNG could be as much as $4billion according to Harmony CEO, Graham […]

African Barrick Gold (ABGL.L: Quote) said its net profit declined in the first quarter as lower production and higher costs offset rising gold prices. Net profit fell 5 percent to $50.4 million as the miner's production dipped 2 percent to 173,907 ounces. Cash costs jumped 28 percent to $658 an ounce.

Drilling beyond the open-pit shell of an already massive gold deposit, Detour Gold is pushing the limits of gold mineralization with new discoveries. Detour Lake keeps getting bigger for Detour Gold (TSX: DGC). Twelve of 20 drillholes collared outside the western extent of its proposed open-pit project in northeastern Ontario — which so far contains proven and probable reserves of 14.9 million ounces gold @ 1.03 g/t gold — hit long gold-mineralized intercepts.