BOLIDEN–

Ralph Rossouw has been appointed General Manager of Boliden’s zinc mine Tara, in Ireland. Ralph Rossouw has over 20 years’ experience in the international mining industry and is a professionally registered Chartered Mining Engineer in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.

Mr. Rossouw’s most recent assignments were as Chief Executive Advisor of Philex Mining Corporation in the Philippines, and CEO of Maple Minerals in Canada. Ralph has also held senior technical, operational, project and executive managerial positions with large mining corporations such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Goldfields and Placer Dome (Barrick).

“We are happy to have Ralph join the Boliden Group. His long experience in the mining industry will be of great importance to the development of Boliden Tara’s full potential,” says Jan Moström, President Boliden Mines.

The Boliden Tara underground mine is Europe’s largest zinc mine and was acquired by Boliden in early 2004. Approximately 2.6 million tonnes of zinc and lead ore are produced annually. The concentrates are supplied to both Boliden’s own and external smelters. Being a high-cost operation, Boliden Tara is focusing on improving its productivity and competitive position.
(Boliden)

twitter@woodlawnpost

ENGLAND–

Professor Martyn Poliakoff takes viewers on a tour of The Bank of England’s Gold Vaults. The Bank  protects about £197 billion ($315bn) worth of gold, according to the mostly recently published figures. The film is produced by Brady Haran.

The vaults are off limits, but the Bank of England Museum will let you lift a real gold bar: http://bit.ly/TJ4BVk

www.twitter@woodlawnpost

This rare opportunity to photograph treasures of our past will take place on November 28, 2012 in the Refinery section of the Mint’s Ottawa facility on Sussex Drive, where the Mint refines, manufactures and securely stores large volumes of pure gold.

About the Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown Corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada’s circulation coins. An ISO 9001-2008 certified company, the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca.

What:  
Royal Canadian Mint Coin Unveiling
(PHOTO OPPORTUNITY ONLY)  Where: 

Royal Canadian Mint
320 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario  When: 

November 28, 2012
Arrival: 1:15 pm
Photo Opportunity: 1:45 pm  Who:  
Mr. Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada 
Mr. Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint

SOURCE: Royal Canadian Mint

Alice Paul’s image appears on the obverse of the First Spouse Gold Coin and Bronze Medal in accordance with a provision in the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-145), which maintains continuity in the First Spouse Gold Coin Program during times when the President served without a spouse.  In the case of President Arthur, whose wife Ellen died before he took office, the law specifies that the obverse design incorporate the name and likeness of Paul and that the reverse be representative of the suffrage movement.

The United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Set – Chester Arthur is priced at $9.95.  The bureau will accept orders at its Web site,http://www.usmint.gov/catalog, and at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).  Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order at 1-888-321-MINT (6468).  A $4.95 shipping and handling charge will be added to all domestic orders.

The United States Mint was created by Congress in 1792.  This year marks the bureau’s 220th anniversary.  The United States Mint is the Nation’s sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce.  The United States Mint also produces numismatic products including proof, uncirculated and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins.  The United States Mint’s numismatic programs are self-sustaining and operate at no cost to the taxpayer.

Note:  To ensure that all members of the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products, orders placed prior to the official on-sale date and time of October 18, 2012, at noon ET, shall not be deemed accepted by the United States Mint and will not be honored.  For more information, please review the United States Mint’s Frequently Asked Questions, Answer ID #175.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• For additional information about the Presidential $1 Coin and First Spouse Gold Coin Programs, please visit http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/.
• For information about the United States Mint, visithttp://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/.
• To subscribe to United States Mint electronic product notifications, visithttp://www.usmint.gov/email/?action=newsletters.
• Sign up for RSS Feeds from the United States Mint and follow us onFacebook and Twitter.

# # #

United States Mint – Connecting America through Coins

Source: [ usmint.gov ]

“In the short term, the $1,730 support level will continue to feel a lot of pressure as investors focus on the euro zone summit,” said Chen Min, an analyst at Jinrui Futures in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

The World Gold Council (WGC) on Thursday published the conflict-free gold standard, which aims to curb gold production fuelling conflict and human rights violations. The standard, which would apply to conflict-affected areas globally, was developed in collaboration with the council’s member companies, which comprise the world’s leading gold producers.

“It is essential that we combat any misuse of gold by militias and criminal networks. This has been the driving force behind the development of this standard,” Franco-Nevada chairperson and WGC board member responsible for leading the development of the standard, Pierre Lassonde, said.

Canadian miner Goldcorp and WGC chairperson Ian Telfer added that responsible gold mining was an important contributor to economic growth and social development in gold-producing countries.

An industry-led approach to combat the potential misuse of mined gold to fund armed conflict. The Standard has been developed with our member companies, comprising the world’s leading gold producers, and with extensive input from governments, civil society and supply chain participants. It is hoped that the Standard will promote responsible mining practices throughout the gold mining industry. It is an open standard that is available for use by any party involved in the extraction of gold.

Responsibly undertaken, gold mining can play an important role in contributing to sustainable development and alleviating poverty in many of the world’s developing countries. The direct and indirect economic contribution of professional gold mining creates new possibilities for these nations, their communities and individuals.

However, when there is armed conflict, even the best managed operation will need to take additional steps to ensure that both the gold it produces and its broader activities do not contribute to the conflict.

Where a company can demonstrate that it is operating in an area assessed to be ‘conflict-affected or high-risk; in a way that does not support or benefit unlawful armed conflict, it should be encouraged to continue its operations. Indeed, the closure or suspension of a major source of employment and government revenue may accentuate the crisis.

Gold produced in conformance with the Conflict-Free Gold Standard will provide confidence that it has been extracted in a manner that does not cause, support or benefit unlawful armed conflict or contribute to serious human rights abuses or breaches of international humanitarian law. The Standard is based upon internationally recognised benchmarks and conformance will be subject to external assurance. It has been widely recognized as credible and workable.

Guidance for Assurance Providers

Conformance with the Conflict-Free Gold Standard will be externally assured. TheGuidance for Assurance Providers sets out guidance to practioners who have been engaged to report in, accordance with recognised assurance standards, on whether a company’s Conflict-Free Gold Report is prepared in accordance with the Standard.

Guidance for Implementing Companies

The Guidance for Implementing Companies aims to serve as a helpful reference guide to any implementing company and includes a range of tools and reference materials which companies may draw on, according to their individual needs and circumstances.

If you would like to contact the World Gold Council regarding the Standard, please email: conflictfreestandard@gold.org

In an article published by Business Day and Reuters, GFMS global head of metals analytics, Philip Klapwijk, was quoted as saying South Africa would become the world’s sixth largest gold producer from its current number five position in 2012.

South Africa is expected to report a 5% reduction in gold output this year from 198 tonnes in 2011, Business Day and Reuters said.

Commenting on labour unrest in South Africa, Klapwijk said that investors were more sanguine on the gold sector than the country’s platinum sector. However, gold output interruptions borne of labour unrest would nonetheless create “consternation”, the news agencies said.

“Foreign observers are a lot more sanguine about the gold sector than the platinum group metals (PGM) sector for the simple reason that South Africa’s footprint in mining is nothing like it used to be,” Klapwijk said.

“Unfortunately, there’s a general expectation these days about South Africa’s gold mining industry – that it’s in a long term decline in production and part of that story is a difficult industrial relations backdrop,” said Klapwijk.

“If foreign investors and observers were to think this could trigger labour unrest and renewed debate about taking mines into public ownership, people would conclude that this would damage security of property rights in South Africa and lead to a far more accelerated decline in output,” he said.

Gold prices were expected to rise to $1,800 per ounce before the year end and could possibly break through $2,000/oz, GFMS said in its forecast for the remainder of the year.

Source: miningmx.com

US Gold futures for December delivery eased US$1,699.00 on September 6th 2012.

Our forecast is that 2013 will see more inflationary pressures as the Federal Reserve’s announces that it will begin its 3rd round of quantitative easing, known as QE3, in early 2013. Overall, with the mounting debt problems in Europe and in the U.S we expect that inflation will be a concern long-term.

We expect positive demand in the gold market long-term as the precious metal will directly benefit from EU money supply growth, the Indian wedding season (late September/January 2012) and future stimulus.

We see positive long-term signs for precious metal’s as a form of wealth protection against currency debasement.

** No information in this analysis should be considered as being business, financial or legal advice. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business, financial or legal advice regarding the products mentioned in the analyses. **

Written By Adrian Mitchell And WoodlawnPost.com Staff

The minutes showed the Fed would take measures “fairly soon” to grease the wheels of the economy, eliciting a 2 percent rally in the price of gold in two days and rekindling hopes among some investors that the bank will announce a fresh round of bond-buying to pin down interest rates as early as September.

Such a move would benefit gold by keeping long-term interest rates, and hence the opportunity cost of holding non-yield bearing gold, low, stoking fears of inflation and boosting liquidity.

The options market still paints a bullish picture for gold overall, with total bets on a rise in the price outpacing those on a fall.

But bearish positioning has jumped this week, highlighting how wary the market is of the potential for the central bank not to deliver enough stimulus to feed a more sustained gold rally.

“The market as a whole is definitely bullish, but a lot of them have no real idea why…..it is a bit of a herd mentality at the moment, but as with many herds, it doesn’t always do to stand in the way,” David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron, said.

Most open interest on options contracts near the current most-active December gold futures price of around $1,668 an ounce is clustered in put options, which give the holder the right, but no obligation, to sell gold at a set price, at $1,600.00.

On Friday August 24th, the yellow metal hit another life-time high in Rupee terms of $564.35 per 10 gram.

It seems, however, that high price levels have not really dampened retailers’ seasonal buying moodin the run up to the festive season that kicks off this week in India. Bulk purchases for marriages continue, with most retailers stocking up and individuals buying smaller items of gold jewellery.

The festive season brings to into play its own share of discount offers. As the marriage season kicks off in Kerala, in South India, this week also marks the onset of Onam, a festival to celebrate the harvest festival in the South, with pomp and ceremony.

India’s apex bank, the Reserve Bank of India, has once again turned the spotlight on the citizens craze for gold and, in its inimitable style, has dealt a back-handed compliment to the earning potential of gold. The bank has said there is a need to contain risks in gold prices and housing as they seem to be running way ahead of inflation.

The bank has noted that diversion of household financial savings to investments in gold may have impacted the growth of term deposits. Deposits have fallen to 16.7% in 2009-10 to 2011-12 from 23% in 2006-07 to 2008-09.

“Since such investments in gold do not contribute to capital formation, they are likely to have implications for overall investment and economic growth,”  the bank has said in its report.

The bank has said, Indian households appear to have favoured investment in valuables like gold, since valuables have increased from 1.3% of GDP in 2008-09 to 2.8% in 2011-12.

The bank has said two years of high inflation amidst wide fiscal and current account deficits have had an adverse impact on welfare. Inflation remained above 9% during April-November 2011, but moderated to 6.9% by end-March 2012.

The bank has said various schemes to promote gold as an investment asset among individuals have added to the demand for the yellow metal.

The Annual Report for 2011-12 is a statutory Report of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank. It covers the assessment of the macroeconomic performance during 2011-12 and the prospects for 2012-13, and the working and operations of the Reserve Bank and its financial accounts for the year 2011-12.

The central bank’s report said India’s gold import numbers are estimated to have grown by 39% during 2011-12. According to the World Gold Council, India’s quantum of gold imports accounted for a quarter of the world demand in 2011-12.

Source: (REUTERS) 

US Gold futures for December delivery eased  US$1,641.20 on August 22nd 2012.

Globally, demand for physical Gold has been stagnant and in the short-term the precious metal is showing strong resistance near the US$1,580.00 a ounce level. We expect that trend to continue with physical demand in India until late September of 2012.

Our forecast is that 2013 will see more inflationary pressures as the Federal Reserve’s announces that it will begin its 3rd round of quantitative easing, known as QE3, in early 2013. Overall, with the mounting debt problems in Europe and in the U.S we expect that inflation will be a concern long-term.

We expect positive demand in the gold market long-term as the precious metal will directly benefit from EU money supply growth, the Indian wedding season (late September/January 2012) and future stimulus.

We see positive long-term signs for precious metal’s as a form of wealth protection against currency debasement.

** No information in this analysis should be considered as being business, financial or legal advice. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business, financial or legal advice regarding the products mentioned in the analyses. **

Written By Adrian Mitchell And WoodlawnPost.com Staff