Silver

Comex gold and silver futures prices closed the day session higher Monday, with August gold powering to another new all-time record high of $1,624.30 an ounce. The precious metal was lifted by the breakdown in debt talks in the US over the weekend and news that ratings agency Moody's has downgraded Greece's debt again saying default is now almost a certainty. December Comex silver also traded up $40.44 after hitting a new 11-week high early on Monday. The gold:silver ratio – the number of ounces of silver needed to buy an ounce of gold: eased back below 40.

Newcrest Mining, Australia's largest gold mining company, reported on Thursday that gold production rose 16% to 700,124 ounces during its June quarter. Copper production was slightly higher than the previous quarter at 20,127 tonnes. The company said cash costs of A$542 per ounce were higher than the previous quarter due to higher site costs and lower copper byproduct credits per ounce.

Reuters reported that Extorre (CVE:XG) has discovered additional gold and silver deposits at the Cerro Moro mine. Image by Extorre

Latin American precious metal producer Hochschild Mining said output fell 13 percent in the first half, as expected, and that it was on track to meet its full-year target. It produced 11.1 million silver equivalent ounces in the first half due to lower grades at the company's two main Peruvian operations, declining output from its two ageing Ares and Moris mines, and industrial action at its San Jose mine.

Rising appetite for Gold jewelry among households and investors in China and India is driving the global demand for the yellow metal, says a study conducted by the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC). China and India—two largest gold consuming nations in the world—have been driving gold demand in the world in the last few years.

When a 4.5% jump in stock price with 15 million shares changing hands on news of the acquisition of three new concessions is considered a dull trading day then you know you're dealing with a volatile stock. Portage Resources has gone from 2c to 65c a share in the matter of three months but the Peruvian explorer has certainly not been a one-way bet – the stock's 52-week high is $1.24. The company based in Miraflores, Lima (pictured) has been snapping up silver properties in Peru, but after announcing silver reserves worth $2.3 billion at one of them the stock has been unstoppable.

Russia will seek to secure a priority right for the explored ocean minefields in the Atlantic says Polar Marine Geological Prospecting Expedition Vladimir Kryukov following the first stage of ore deposit exploration on the Atlantic Ocean floor. The Russian research vessel The Professor Logachev is engaged in exploring copper, zinc, gold and silver deposits in the area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at about 13 degrees north latitude. Over the last seven years, Russian marine geologists have made a number of discoveries and is now seeking to legally execute its right of exploring them through the United Nations.

The Silver demand in China is on up. Imports of silver to the China have reached new highs, and analysts maintain that demand for this year will only continue to grow. The growth comes not only from industrial and jewelry demand, but also from the increased investments in silver as a hedge against market losses and inflation.

Silvercorp Metals Inc. has achieved record silver production and record sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Highlights

• Record revenues of $69.7-million (U.S.), representing a 90-per-cent increase compared with the same quarter of fiscal 2011;
• Record silver production of 1.6 million ounces, up 15 per cent from the same period a year ago;
• Gold production of 1,390 ounces, a 30-per-cent increase compared with the same period last year.