South Africa police standoff with illegal gold miners escalates
The police sealed off access to the Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein several weeks ago to deny the miners access to food and other essentials.
Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped on Friday, dropping below the key mark 1,500 U.S. dollars, as safe-haven demand further weakened after Greece made progress on reducing its debt default risk.
The most active gold contract for August delivery shed 20.2 U.S. dollars, or 1.3 percent, to 1482.6 dollars per ounce, the lowest settlement for the latest six weeks.
