Gold

Vanderhoof, a small community in northern British Columbia, has been told to expect a gold mine on its doorstep within 6 years. New Gold President and CEO Bob Gallagher paid a visit to Vandherhoof town council on July 20, telling local politicians the Blackwater gold mine should be up and running by 2017.

G-Resources Group Ltd , backed by Mount Kellett Capital and BlackRock Inc , chose to tap the equity markets with a HK$1.7 billion ($218.5 million) share placement after cancelling plans to secure a bank loan to fund its gold mining project in Indonesia. Photo of the Martabe gold project, by G-Resources Group Ltd.

Goldcorp, the world's second largest gold miner, saw revenues increase by 62% over the 2010 second quarter, to $1.3 billion, on gold sales of 606,400 ounces. However, flooding, forest fires and problem equipment caused production to slip at some of the company's mines. Goldcorp downgraded its total expected gold production by six percent, from between 2.65 million and 2.75 million ounces to between 2.50 million and 2.55 million ounces.

Despite a flurry of mergers and acquisitions and a robust IPO market reports out on Wednesday suggest that fear is slowly replacing greed in the mining finance business. The Financial Post reports for investment bankers, the low-hanging fruit is long gone and the biggest financings are now high-risk: gold juniors in Africa, coal in Colombia and an infamous Quebec lithium play that overstated its resource. Global Mining Finance's July round-up says untrustworthy financial and resource reporting, threats of new royalty regimes, "super-profit" and carbon taxes, political turmoil, strikes and government takeovers are worrying resource investors all around the world.

Gold is sidelining platinum and palladium and could hit $1 800/oz by Christmas, says UBS bullion bank precious metals strategist Dr Edel Tully, who describes the present as “an extremely exciting time” to be in precious metals. Tully expects gold to be in deficit in 2011 as a result of only moderate mine-supply growth, a lower level of recycling than in 2009 and the steady buying of gold by central banks.

Gold bullion prices set a new intraday record of $1,625 per ounce in Wednesday's Asian trade – 1.5% up on Friday's close – before easing back slightly after London opened. Stocks and commodities fell but US Treasury bonds were up, as the US Congress had to postpone a vote on the $14.2 trillion debt ceiling. Image of Johh Boehner, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

While commodities ETFs - led by precious metals funds like the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) - are hot, currency ETFs are even hotter. Flows into 38 U.S.-listed currency ETFs this year stood at $2.2 billion through last week, according to a new review of fund flows by ConvergEx Group.

Jayden Resources Inc., ("Jayden" or "the Company") (TSX:JDN) is pleased to announce assay results from the first 17 holes received from its planned 100 hole - 15,000 meter drilling program at Silver Coin. The drilling program is composed of approximately 80% infill and close offset holes, and 20% exploration holes outside of the current resource. The primary goal of the program is to upgrade the existing inferred resource to the measured and indicated categories. Drilling began in mid-May at the south end of the resource area and has been progressing to the north.

The tide of deaths of infants and young children from an outbreak of lead poisoning in Zamfara State, in North West Nigeria did not come like a thief in the night. The stage had been set for the tragic incident several years earlier. Increasing activities of illegal miners and improper processing of lead-contaminated gold ore within households in the community, were largely responsible for the high death toll. Image of an artisinal miner holding wolframite is from Julien Harneis.