Gold hits 12-week high, on track for best month in a year

Shares in junior precious metals miner Silver Sun Resources Corp. spiked 10% on Friday after becoming the sole owner of the Cherry Hill Mining Company, a fellow Californian gold miner. The Vancouver company's stock is up just short of 50% on the TSX-Venture exchange in 2011. Silver Sun is in the final stages of development of its gold project in Yreka, California and engaged in an on-going work programme in Mexico's prolific Zacatecas silver district and at a newly-acquired silver project Yoreme in Sonora state.

Australian junior miner Alcyone Resources has poured its first silver bullion from its 100%-owned Texas silver and polymetallic project in Queensland it acquired 18 months ago, after starting in early April this year to re-irrigate the existing silver-rich heaps at the Twin Hills mine. Alcyone says its forecast cash operating cost is around A$15/ounce which provides strong margins with the silver price hovering above A$30/ounce. It expects to start full-scale operations by the September 2011 quarter at an initial annualised rate of 1.5-2.0m ounces. The ASX-listed penny stock is up some 120% so far this year.

Zambia's finance minister said on Thursday that audits had highlighted tax "issues" with Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources (VED.L:Quote), and Canada's First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO: Quote) in addition to Glencore's (GLEN.L:Quote) subsidiary in the country.

Rising inflation in China and India's tenth interest rate hike since March 2010, is set to take a toll on consumers preference for the yellow metal, according to analysts and traders. ``Gold and silver will surely get pummelled in the near term with signs of a stronger US dollar and yet another rate hike in India. Investors have very little savings these days and prefer not to invest in gold,'' said Manoj Maheswari, bullion analyst at a brokerage firm here.

In April/May, Peel Mining Limited (ASX:PEX) undertook an 18 line kilometre IP survey over the historic Tulloch silver mine and Rockvale arsenic mine areas in preparation for an upcoming drill programme. Peel is pleased to report that multiple zones of strong shallow chargeable anomalism have been identified, many of which are coincident or proximal to known historic workings. These chargeable IP responses are interpreted as areas of possibly concentrated sulphide mineralisation and will be high-priority targets for future drill programmes.

Heatherdale Resources announced that it has closed the previously announced non-brokered private placement of 11,314,255 units of its capital at a price of $0.83 per unit for gross cash proceeds of $9,390,831. Each unit consists of one common share and one warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional common share at a price of $1.20 for a period of 18 months from the closing of the private placement. The common shares and warrants comprising the units are subject to a four month hold period from the closing date, which hold period expires on October 15, 2011.

Sulliden Gold announced positive results from feasibility-level metallurgical test work focused on the oxide-bearing gold and silver material at its 100%-owned Shahuindo Project located in Peru.

Sulliden Gold Corporation Ltd. (TSX:SUE)(OTCQX:SDDDF) has completed a new gold and silver mineral resource estimate for its 100%-owned Shahuindo Project in Peru. The updated estimate delivered a 121% increase of indicated gold ounces in the oxides and a 397% increase in inferred gold ounces from the sulphides relative to the 2009 year-end estimate. Sulliden continues to actively drill the Shahuindo property and new results will continue to be released throughout 2011. Image of the Shahuindo Project by Sulliden Resources

Shares in Vancouver-based Great Panther Silver on Wednesday continued to soar after the company reported record revenues and profits a day earlier. Shortly before the close the company which owns 100% of two silver mines in Mexico was up 8.5% in a broadly weaker market and on a tough day for other silver counters. Tuesday's results showed net income up $6m to $7m for the first quarter and a 95% increase in revenues to $15.5m. The company listed in February this year and raised $24.2m in April in a closed equity offering. A day before the results announcement investor site Motley Fool said the counter was "poised to pop."