Gold

African Barrick Gold, which has four gold mines in Africa's fourth largest gold producer Tanzania, said on Wednesday it was planning to cross-list on the country's bourse by the end of this year.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 7, 2011) - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:PEX) (the "Company") reports that exploration at the Mariposa Property, located within the Yukon's White Gold District, has seen completion of 34 drill holes for a total of 5350 metres drilled so far this season. Receipt of assay results has seen delays due to high volume and continuous sample submittals, as a result of increased exploration activity in the Yukon. The objective of the 2011 drilling program is planned around completion of approximately 6,000 metres of diamond core drilling to test 5 gold exploration targets located within an approximate 26 square kilometer area of the overall 262 square kilometer Mariposa Property.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 7, 2011) - NovaGold Resources Inc. (TSX:NG)(NYSE Amex:NG) The feasibility study completed on the Donlin Gold Project (formerly Donlin Creek) in 2009 is being updated to include power generation utilizing natural gas delivered to site via aproposed 500-kilometer natural gas pipeline from the Cook Inlet to the mine site. Utilizing natural gas is expected to lower costs to generate power and reduce operating risk. In connection with this update, Donlin Gold LLC, owned equally by wholly owned subsidiaries of NovaGold Resources Inc. ("NovaGold") and Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick"), has provided its owners with preliminary capital cost estimates of approximately US$6billion for the Project with an additional approximately US$1 billion for the natural gas pipeline.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX)(TSX:ABX) announced today that it has made two significant gold discoveries on the Company's 100%-owned Cortez property in Nevada(1). These two discoveries, known as Red Hill and Goldrush, are located on highly prospective ground, six kilometers southeast of the Cortez Hills mine and 24 kilometers southeast of the Pipeline mine. Based on the results of wide spaced drilling, the Company has outlined two zones of gold mineralization along a seven kilometer long trend.

At the end of the second quarter this year, global gold demand stood at 919.8 tons, down by 17 percent year-on-year, according to World Gold Council. However, in value terms, gold demand surged five percent to reach $44.5 billion.

The deal-making frenzy in the global mining sector during the first half of the year was followed by a dramatic drop in activity in July and August, according to a new report by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers. Figures from the report titled Riders on the Storm show that in July and August the value of global mining deals fell by 49% and deal volumes declined by 25%. The sharp reversal came after a record first half when 1,379 deals worth $71bn were announced even though Chinese entities, firmly focused on value, retreated from iconic western takeovers. Buyers were also willing to pay over the odds for large publicly listed targets – for $500 million+ acquisitions, the average premium was 37%. For sub-$500 million deals, premiums averaged a mere 8%.

Gold futures fell slightly to settle at $1,873 as spot gold jumped to a record high Tuesday after Switzerland pegged its currency to the euro, then the precious metal retreated 2 percent from that level as investors took profits. The spot price of gold—which tracks global trades in bullion—and U.S. gold futures set all-time highs above $1,920 an ounce after the Swiss National Bank set a minimum exchange-rate target on the soaring franc to stave off a recession. Analysts said they still expect gold to chart new peaks on worsening euro zone troubles.

Wits Gold wishes to announce that Turgis Consulting (Pty) Ltd (Turgis) has been appointed to complete a pre-feasibility study over the Company's advanced DBM Project in the southern Free State goldfield. This follows the announcement of positive scoping study results at the DBM Project on 23 June 2011. The initiation of a seven diamond borehole drilling programme for pre-feasibility purposes commenced in July 2011 and is on schedule to be completed during September 2011.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 6, 2011) - Entrée Gold Inc. (TSX:ETG)(NYSE Amex:EGI)(FRANKFURT:EKA) ("Entrée" or the "Company") has received assay results from three additional deep diamond drill holes on the 100% owned Ann Mason copper molybdenum porphyry deposit in the Yerington district of Nevada. Drilling continues to return long intercepts (448 metres to 814 metres) averaging from 0.35% to 0.43% copper equivalent ("CuEq"). Higher grade mineralization, including intervals greater than 0.60% CuEq, is present in these holes, as shown in Table 1 below. Hole locations and cross sections can be viewed at www.entreegold.com.