Yamana mentioned at the end.
+++++++++++++++++++
Special "Investing in Gold Companies" Edition of The Wall Street
Transcript
NEW YORK (Dec. 22) BUSINESS WIRE -Dec. 22, 1998--Leading analysts
examine the Gold industry in the just-published edition of The Wall
Street Transcript, a vital review for investors and companies.
1) An in-depth roundtable forum featuring five prominent analysts: Gil
Atzmon of U.S. Global Investors, Victor Flores of HSBC Securities,
Felix Freeman of Scotia Capital, Peter Palmedo of Sun Valley Gold
Company, and Borden Putnam of Robert Stevens Investment Management. The
panel discusses South African gold companies, acquisitions and
alliances, supply and demand factors, access to capital, and the recent
inability of gold to sustain a level above $300. Atzmon states, "We
should not forget that all commodity prices are very weak right now,
oil being one of the leaders." Responding to dire predictions for
worldwide production following the drop below $300, Flores asserts,
"What's more interesting is the reaction of the producers to the lower
gold price, which has been to react very quickly and cut costs very
credibly. And that's the reason why production has actually stayed
where it is or has in fact only increased slightly with respect to last
year, even though we've had a significant drop in the gold price."
On industry consolidation, Freeman declares, "It's definitely got to
continue. It's been surprising and extremely frustrating that it hasn't
happened already. The reasons tend to be very much personality issues
and doubts about the quality of projects, especially among the juniors,
a syndrome of 'my kid's prettier than your kid.'"
Other topics addressed by this distinguished panel: M&A trends,
"fallen companies," business models, management concerns, stock
performance, increasing marketplace internationalization, the outlook
for Homestake (NYSE:HM), stock valuations, investment criteria, and the
future outlook for the sector.
The panel offers several investment recommendations, including:
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Iamgold (Toronto:IMG.TO), and Francisco Gold
(Vancouver:FGX.V), about which Palmedo states, "It's a classic
late-stage development property which has a meaningful amount of
potential production, 250,000-300,000 ounces a year, at production
costs that are estimated to be close to $100 per ounce. It has a
current market capitalization of less than U.S. $100 million, with $25
million cash and no debt."
2) An "Off-the-Record" survey of analysts and industry experts, who
praise and/or criticize 15 Gold companies and managements, includes
several recommendations and a few admonishments. Praise for Jack
Thompson of Homestake (NYSE:HM) for "actually doing an excellent job.
In fact, he's probably shown the most improvement amongst any of those
seniors, and still has a lot of plans going forward."
An ovation for Bill Nettles at Stillwater Mining (AMEX:SWC) because
"He's got the company firing on all cylinders. They're doing very, very
well."
But, another Gold CEO disappoints experts who say "They're in the Hall
of Shame for going back to revolving management."
Other companies mentioned in this special 30-page Gold section
include: Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM), Anglo-American (Nasdaq:AAGIY),
Anglogold (NYSE:AU), Ashanti (NYSE:ASL), Avgold (OTC:AVGLY), Battle
Mountain Gold (NYSE:BMG), Dayton (AMEX:DAY), Durban Deeps
(Nasdaq:DROOY), Echo Bay (AMEX:ECO), Eldorado (Toronto:ELD.TO),
Euro-Nevada (Toronto:EN.TO), Franco-Nevada (Toronto:FN.TO), Freeport
McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX), Getchell Gold (AMEX:GGO), Gitennes
(Toronto:GIT.TO), Glamis Gold (NYSE:GLG), Great Central Mines
(Nasdaq:GTCMY), Greenstone Resources (Nasdaq:GRERF), Harmony
(Nasdaq:HGMCY), Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC), Lihir Gold (Nasdaq:LIHRY),
Meridian (NYSE:MDG), Minorco (Nasdaq:MNRCY), Newcrest Mining ADR
(OTC:NWCMY), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), Normandy Mining
(Toronto:NDY.TO), Placer Dome (NYSE:PDG), Prime Resources (AMEX:PRU),
Rayrock (Toronto:RAY.TO), Royal Oak Mines (AMEX:RYO), Samax
(Toronto:SMX), Sutton (Nasdaq:STTZF), TVX (NYSE:TVX), William Resources
(Toronto:WIM.TO), and Yamana (Toronto:YRI.TO).
For information on how to obtain a copy of this issue, see
twst.com or call (212) 952 - 7433. The Wall Street
Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewee nor does it
make stock recommendations.
The Wall Street Transcript is a premier weekly investment publication
serving serious long-term investors for over 35 years. The Transcript
publishes industry roundtables and interviews with Wall Street
analysts, money managers, and company CEOs, and is read by top money
managers, brokers, and individual investors.
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