The spot price of gold in Sydney was USD$684.60 an ounce on Friday, down 15 cents from Thursday's local close, news.com.au reports. The gold miners were mixed; Newcrest (ASX:NCM) gained 22 cents to AUD$23.02 and Newmont (ASX:NEM) lost nine cents to AUD$5.19.
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) has completed the sale of its 14.8% stake in NovaGold (AMEX:NG) Resources, a Vancouver-based junior miner that Barrick attempted to acquire last year. Barrick raised C$200 million through the sale of its 13.6 million shares, and was NovaGold's largest shareholder, CBC news reports.
NovaGold's main project is the C$1.8 billion Galore Creek copper-gold-silver project in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, where construction is expected to begin later this year. The company also owns 70% of Donlin Creek, a gold project in Alaska. Barrick holds the remaining 30%.
Lihir Gold (ASX:LHG) says it has raised AUD$972 million from an institutional placement and entitlement offer.The institutional entitlement offer raised AUD$852 million at an offer price of AUD$2.30 per share, while the placement raised AUD$120 million, the Brisbane Times reports. The company has previously announced its intention to use the proceeds to close out its gold hedge book and repay a gold loan and other secured debt.
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre has launched Dubai's first souvenir gold coin, part of a series of valuable collectible coins representing the emirate, MENAFM.com reports. The first coin in the "Visions of Dubai" series will feature the image of H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. An iconic Dubai landmark, the Burj Al Arab, will be depicted on the other side.
The Harrison Daily Times reports that a month long investigation into a burglary in Newton County, North Arkansas, has resulted in the seizure of many gold and silver coins, along with more than 60 firearms, from one residence. One case discovered by police held an estimated USD$130,000 worth of American, Canadian and South African Krugerrand gold coins, while another was filled with USD$1,700 worth of rolled silver coins.
Novinite.com reports that Bulgarian customes officers on the Bulgaria- Turkey border seized close to 2kg of gold jewellery on Sunday. The jewellery had been hidden in the speakers of a car entering Bulgaria, driven by a Turkish citizen with legal alien status in Bulgaria. Over the last week, Bulgarian officials have seized over 17kg of gold jewellery.
The Daily Reckoning Australia
P.S. to get The Daily Reckoning direct to your inbox sign up to our free e-mail newsletter or if you prefer to use RSS, subscribe to the Daily Reckoning RSS feed.
Related Articles:
- None Found
About the Author
The Daily Reckoning offers an independent and critical perspective on the Australian and global investment markets. Slightly offbeat and far from institutional, The Daily Reckoning delivers you straight-forward, humorous, and useful investment insights from a world wide network of analysts, contrarians, and successful investors. Founded in 1999, The Daily Reckoning is published in 7 countries with a worldwide readership of almost 1 million people.
