What's most important is that Pershing Gold's Relief Canyon is an economically robust, low operating risk, open-pit, heap leach project in mining-friendly Nevada.
All-in costs in the $750-$775 range shield it from the pain many, many juniors are facing. Look no further than Atna Resources for an example of a troubled junior. Atna is a good company, they did nothing terribly wrong, they just have a cost structure that's too close for comfort at $1,200-$1,300 gold.
The essential attributes that set Pershing Gold apart are actually growing in importance. These are its demonstrated access to funding from Honig / Dr. Frost / Coeur Mining, 100% built and paid for processing facilities, experienced management team and near-term production.
Many emerging gold juniors in Nevada, and around the world for that matter, are facing serious delays, scale-backs and cancellations of high cost or highly complex or high country risk projects.
Think about it, the majors are cutting back big-time and the juniors have extremely limited access to capital. This virtually guarantees that supply in coming years will be way less than expected.
Gold prices will go up, but many existing and prospective gold companies won't be around to benefit. Pershing will be there, unless it gets acquired. |
