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Gold Summary for June 25, 2021
2021-06-25 19:22 ET - Market Summary
by Stockwatch Business Reporter
New York spot gold rose $5.30 Friday, closing at $1,779.80. The TSX Venture Exchange lost 2.08 points to 948.51 while the TSX gold dipped 1.77 points to 294.17. Most Canadian gold miners drifted lower with bullion today. Victoria Gold Corp. (VGCX) helped lead the way, dropping 24 cents to $18.34 on 404,000 shares while Iamgold Corp. (IMG) lost nine cents to $3.72 on 1.42 million shares.
Newmont Corp. (NGT) did buck the trend, adding 30 cents to $77.10 on 291,000 shares. Newmont said earlier this week that it has an "inaugural climate strategy" plan to become carbon neutral by 2050. The plan is a cash drain as well as a carbon sink: Newmont committed $500-million (U.S.) last year to support its climate targets over a five-year period. That cash will "support implementation of technologies, emissions reduction projects and other climate change initiatives." In other words -- one hopes, at least -- Newmont will spend money upgrading some of its aging infrastructure with more efficient equipment.
Patrick Laracy's Vulcan Minerals Inc. (VUL) rose two cents to 26 cents on 267,000 shares. The company has just closed its placement of 22.5 million shares at 20 cents, raising $500,000 more than the $4-million it had been seeking, to "accommodate investor interest." Mr. Laracy, president and chief executive officer, was particularly pleased with the interest shown by one of his new backers, Eric Sprott, who bought 10 million of the new shares in yet another of his Newfoundland investments.
Mr. Laracy cheered Mr. Sprott's "enthusiasm for the mining potential of Newfoundland," adding that as a local company, Vulcan is "very excited to be actively engaged in the exploration resurgence currently under way in the province." To this point, Vulcan's role in the Newfoundland resource sector has been to take the Great Atlantic salt deposit to feasibility and to produce gypsum from its Ace mine, while holding the rights to the Fischell's Brook salt dome and "other strategic salt claims."
Of course, Mr. Sprott is buying big into Vulcan because the old salts running the company have acquired "strategic land positions in multiple active Newfoundland gold exploration and development belts." When pressed for details, Vulcan adds that the underexplored early-stage properties cover geologic structures in central Newfoundland where new gold targets are emerging as shown by the recent discoveries of Marathon Gold Corp. (MOZ: $3.33) and New Found Gold Corp. (NFG: $12.08).
In other words, Vulcan's Red Cross Lake project lies about five kilometres east of the structure hosting Marathon's Valentine Lake project while its Gander North, Gander South and Lizard Pond projects are adjacent to properties adjacent to other properties near New Found Gold's Queensway project. Still, that second-stage proximity is enough enticement for Mr. Sprott to place his latest bet.
Indeed, Mr. Sprott had plenty of reading on his plate to keep abreast of his Newfoundland investments today. He heard today that King Global Ventures Inc. (KING), which lost one-half cent to 7.5 cents on 350,000 shares, is acquiring the Chapel Island property in central Newfoundland. (These days, promoters have been deeming everything but the odd outport to be in central Newfoundland, but the name alone -- Chapel Island -- belies the fact that the project is just off the coast of northeastern Newfoundland.) The new property has produced grab sample assays of up to 150 grams of gold per tonne.
Two other Sprott investments had Newfoundland news today. Sokoman Minerals Corp. (SIC) rose four cents to 74 cents on 772,000 shares and Benton Resources Inc. (BEX) lost one cent to 20.5 cents on 45,000 shares on word that they have approval for an airborne geophysical survey over their Kepenkeck gold property which they acquired last month in -- yes, of course -- central Newfoundland.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, B2Gold Corp. (BTO) lost 18 cents to $5.18 on 8.96 million shares following word late yesterday that it has begun arbitration proceedings against the Mali government over its Menankoto project. The Malian government has refused to grant B2Gold a renewal of its licence for the project, apparently through one of the all-too-common bits of legislative jiggery-pokery that occurs in Third World countries.
The Menankoto brouhaha has no direct impact (yet) on the company's Fekola mine, just 20 kilometres away. Fekola is a major gold producer, one projected to produce up to 560,000 ounces this year. While the mine does not yet have its Anaconda resource -- which includes a healthy contribution from Menankoto -- in its plan, that was expected to change. Anaconda hosts 21.6 million tonnes inferred at 1.11 grams of gold per tonne, about 770,000 ounces of gold.
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