Detour mentioned as takeover targetTaseko's Prosperity, one of Canada's biggest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, holds 13.3m ounces of gold valued at USD 15.74 each, and Detour Gold's property on the Abitibi greenstone belt in Ontario holds 13.2m ounces valued at USD 29.64 each; yet Osisko's 8.9m ounces at its Malarctic project in Quebec scores a rating of USD 121.33/oz.Northgateholds 6.9m ounces of gold (plus copper) at its Kemess North project in British Columbia and scores a rating of USD 46.77/oz.
Gold Reserve, which has been in something of a fray with Rusoro Mining, holds 11.8m ounces of gold at its Brisas project in Venezuela, with a value of just USD 3.11 each. Crystallex, also in Venezuela, holds a magnificent 16.9m ounces of gold at its La Cristinas project, valued at a very conservative USD 3.74 each. While permitting complications and delays inevitably rank high as concerns in developed countries, political and people issues often come to the fore in developing nations.
Moto Goldminesand Banro, both with significantly endowed gold projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, show valuations of USD 25.34/oz and USD 8.50/oz, respectively, while Greystar's great 15.0m ounce Angostura discovery in Colombia scores a valuation of USD 9.84/oz. Centamin Egypt, which is close to production in an ancient country, holds 12.3m ounces with a relatively lofty valuation of USD 64.29/oz, yet Great Basin Gold, which is also close to production in South Africa, holds 13.3m ounces valued at less than half the number for Centamin Egypt. The 5.4m ounces held by Guyana Goldfieldsat its Aurora project score a rating of USD 26.70/oz.
Novagold, which holds 14.7m ounces, its 50% attributable number for Alaska's huge Donlin Creek deposit, shows a valuation of USD 34.91/oz. The partner at Donlin Creek is Barrick, which agreed with Novagold as early as August 2007 to settle disputes over the property and advance it on a 50:50 basis. Over the past 12 months, Novagold's market value collapsed from USD 1.47bn to a paltry USD 70m. The stock price has since risen by 635% from the bottom. For some rough guidance, consider that Newmont reckons that capital costs (on a 100% basis) at Boddington, which is set to produce around 1m ounces of gold a year, will total between USD 2.6bn and USD 2.9bn. Striking it rich in elephant country may be one thing, but having gorilla money to build it is another thing completely.