Spot gold was up 0.5% at $1,941.66 per ounce by noon EDT, shaking off initial declines.

Callinex shares were up 20% after the company announced new high-grade copper, gold, silver and zinc lenses at its Pine Bay project.

The world's second-largest gold producer lost a key court challenge last week over rights to the Porgera mine.

The principal target of the Columbia drill program is a series of over 80 ‘Buritica-style’ high-grade gold veins.

Highlight intercepts from the western part of Saddle include 58.5 metres of 1.8 g/t gold starting at 532.5 metres; 29 metres of 2.39 g/t gold from 619 metres; as well as 39 metres of 1.47 g/t gold starting at 886 metres.

The study looks at a 1,750 t/d underground mine that would produce an average of 76,000 oz. gold per year over a mine life of 11 years at all-in sustaining costs of $747 per oz.

After restarting mining at the end of July and milling in early August, following a temporary shutdown, the operation generated 3,200 gold oz. last month.