Western sanctions, imposed shortly after Moscow sent its troops to Ukraine on Feb. 24, froze around half of Russia's gold and forex reserves.

Illegal gold mining is destroying tracts of pristine rainforest in Congo's Okapi Wildlife Reserve, environmental organizations warned on Tuesday.

Highlights from the results of 45 new holes showed continued strike and depth expansion with significant gold intercepts along the Monique gold zones.

Bullion has had a wild ride this year, tumbling almost 20% since a March peak as the Federal Reserve aggressively tightened monetary policy.

Demand for gold jewelry, coins and bars typically peaks in the world’s second-biggest consumer over October to December.

Fenn-Gib now hosts a pit-constrained indicated resource of 118.1 million tonnes at 0.81 g/t for 3.06 million oz. of contained gold, representing a 47% increase over the previous estimate.

Blackwater has proven and probable reserves of 334.3 million tonnes grading 0.75 g/t gold and 5.8 g/t silver.