Illegally mined gold from Colombia sold in the US — report

The shares in some North American silver miners fell sharply on Thursday after Bolivia's leftist government said it might rescind concessions on four mines in the country run by Glencore International Ltd [GLEN.UL] affiliates and Canada's Pan American Silver Corp (PAA.TO: Quote)(PAAS.O: Quote).

After years of frustration, Greystar Resources shareholders successfully campaigned to dump CEO Steve Kesler and the board of directors in the aftermath of continued delays in its Angostura gold-silver project in Colombia. Greystar (TSX, AIM: GSL) has been working on the development of Angostura for 15 years, investing C$153 million thus far in the US$1 billion project.

NovaGold Resources released a prefeasibility study today on its 100%-owned Ambler project in northwest Alaska. The Vancouver-based company is exploring the sprawling 36,670-hectare property, which is host to a number of high-grade copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver deposits. According to the PEA, commissioned by SRK Consulting, the property contains 16.8 million tonnes of indicated resources, with 4.1% copper and 6.0% zinc. The inferred category contains 12.1 million tonnes of 3.5% copper and 4.9% zinc.

The world’s number one silver miner reported record gold production for the first quarter even as silver production numbers declined.

An organisation operating out of Dillon in Nevada has been formed as "Jewelers for Japan" to raise funds for the thousands of victims in Japan and it is asking jewelers and consumers to donate scrap gold and silver jewellery in lieu of cash. The refiner Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico will refine the gold and silver scrap without a fee with all proceeds going directly to the American Red Cross.

Fresnillo Plc (FRES.L: Quote), the world's largest primary silver producer, said silver output declined in the first quarter, although gold production rose to a record. The Mexican precious metals miner (FRES.MX: Quote) said silver production fell 2.2 percent to 10.1 million ounces, including output from the Silverstream agreement, on lower ore grades at the Fresnillo mine.

Endeavour Silver Corp's first-quarter revenue nearly doubled as production rose and bullion prices climbed sharply. For the quarter, revenue was $35.4 million, compared with $18.2 million last year.

Azure Minerals, a Mexico-focused precious and base metals explorer, said today it has entered into an agreement to form a joint venture with a Japanese state-owned corporation to explore the El Tecolote Project in Sonora, Mexico. According to the press release, Japan, Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), a Japanese state-owned entity, will spend $US5 million over three years, in order to earn a 51% interest in El Tecolote. The company can earn another 19% stake by spending a further $8 million, which would take its total equity in the project to 70%.

Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. (“the Company” or “Buenaventura”) (NYSE: BVN; Lima Stock Exchange: BUE.LM), Peru’s largest publicly-traded precious metals mining company […]