Silver

Europe's biggest mining project may be approaching the finish line after a dozen years of opposition and delays, and could enter its final stage late next year, a Rosia Montana Gold Corp executive told Reuters on Friday. Rosia Montana is majority-owned by Gabriel Resources which have spent more than $500 million under no fewer than seven different CEOs advancing the project since the Canadian firm first obtained the concession in 1999. It is believed the be one of the richest deposits in Europe with 314 tonnes of gold and 1,500 tonnes of silver and where mining activity dates back to the 1st Century.

After launching its eBay bullion center in May, the online retailer published a handy infographic this summer to look at buying trends. Looking at absolute number of items sold, California leads the way, probably due to the size of the state, but on a per capita basis, Alaska comes first. The study also found that silver items were the most popular, followed by gold. Platinum was a distant third.

Chad Venzke, who was profiled by Bloomberg, has posted some how-to videos on how to bury gold in your backyard. "If you don't own it physically, in your hand and easily accessible, it's a high percentage chance that you don't own it," says Venzke in his YouTube video. The recent market turbulence and the general fear regarding the economic outlook is causing some people to cling to gold more tightly. Venzke's video has had over 8,000 views.

Hecla Mining Company ("Hecla") HL +3.79% announces that it has reached an agreement with its lenders to increase the amount available under its undrawn secured revolving credit facility to $100 million from $60 million. The amendment is effective immediately and represents a new three-year term on the facility. The financial covenants and interest rate at LIBOR plus 2.75% to 3.5% depending on the leverage ratio of the Company, remain unchanged. The lenders for the credit facility are Scotia Capital and ING Capital LLC.

First Majestic (TSE:FR) announced that its Q3 silver production was 4% lower from the prior quarter and 6% lower from the same quarter in 2010. The company produced 1,708,865 silver ounces in Q3 compared to 1,780,379 in Q2. In early morning trading, the company's stock was up 20 cents to $17.69 a share. The company believes that silver production should increase due to operational improvements at La Parrilla, its Mexican mine. First Majestic completed a new 1,000 tpd flotation circuit, which will replace an old 425 tpd flotation circuit and will allow silver production to ramp up in the fourth quarter.

Endeavour Silver Corp. (TSX:EDR)(NYSE:EXK)(FRANKFURT:EJD)announced today that silver and gold production from the Company's two operating silver mines in Mexico, the Guanacevi Mine in Durango State and the Guanajuato Mine in Guanajuato State, continued to rise year-on-year in the Third Quarter, 2011. Silver production was up 8% to 858,738 ounces (oz) and gold production was up 7% to 4,926 oz compared to the Third Quarter, 2010. Revenues jumped 93% for the quarter to US$38.8 million thanks to both higher silver and gold production and higher realized metal prices.

Agnico Eagle's production (NYSE:AEM) totaled 265,978 ounces, an increase of approximately 11% over the second quarter 2011 level of 239,328 ounces due to improved performance at Kittila Mine and Meadowbank Mine. "For the first nine months of 2011, the Company produced a record 757,668 ounces of gold. This compares with the previous nine month record set in the first nine months of 2010 when gold production was 731,138 ounces," said the company in a news release. Last month Agnico Eagle acquired Grayd Resources for $275 million.

Australia on Monday gave environmental approval for BHP Billiton to expand its Olympic Dam mine but set more than 100 environmental conditions on the uranium, copper and gold project. The $30 billion expansion of the existing Olympic Dam underground operation will create an adjacent open pit mine that would be the worlds biggest. An idea of the olympian effort required to construct the mine and the size of the undertaking is clear from the fact that trucks will haul overburden 24/7 for five to six years just to reach the ore body. The combined operations would mine 72 Mt ore per year and would produce 750,000 tonnes refined copper, 19,000 tonnes uranium oxide, 800,000 gold ounces and 2.9 Moz of silver per year.

Gold for December delivery traded up $37.30, or 2.3%, at $1,673.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange in early afternoon trade Monday, after climbing more than $40 earlier to touch an intraday high of $1,676.70. Gold's gains come amid strong buying during China's Golden Week despite the fact that buyers have to contend with bullion that is $300/oz more expensive than last year. Traders reported that the price of gold has been moving up and down in sync with the S&P 500 in the last four sessions, while the safe-haven buying that spurred the metal's three-year rally was largely absent. Other precious metals also benefited from a near 2% drop in the dollar index.