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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kool Guy who wrote (37353)	7/19/1999 3:11:00 PM
From: john mcknight	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116770

Monday, July 19, 1999 Published at 18:03 GMT 19:03 UK World: Africa Ashanti cuts 2,000 jobs in Ghana Ashanti: One of the biggest employers in Ghana Ashanti Goldfields, Ghana's leading gold producer, is to lay off about 2,000 workers in the next few weeks, as a result of a slump in world gold prices. The lay-offs represent one-sixth of the company's workforce. Ashanti employs 12,000 people, 10,000 at its largest mine, Obuasi, and 2,000 at five other mines in Ghana. Ghana warned that the sell offs of gold reserves would trigger "mass lay-offs" James Anaman, Ashanti's general manager for corporate affairs, told BBC News Online on Monday that the company was forced to make the cuts because of the pressure the fall in gold imposed on the industry. He said the lay-offs were also partly a result of a strike called by workers at the Obuasi mine in May. "Workers at the mine staged an illegal strike to demand an increase in their salary package," said Mr Anaman. He said the unions had been presented with an original package which guaranteed that no redundancies would be made. He said this package was not accepted. "As part of resolving the issue, the package had to be adjusted," said Mr Anaman. "In this environment, something had to give." Devastating effects on indebted countries Robert Cole, general secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers Union, said management had cited rising production costs as a reason for the retrenchment. He expressed fears that smaller emerging mines in Ghana might follow Ashanti's example, putting pressure on the mining community. He also said he was worried there could be an impact on the environment if laid-off workers turned to illegal artisanal mining. Gold is Ghana's largest source of foreign exchange, providing some $500-$600 million a year. But stagnant prices have forced some of the country's smaller mines to close down in the past six months, leading to an estimated 10,000 job losses in the sector. On Friday, Ghana lent its voice to a protest led by South Africa against proposals by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank of England to sell off some of their gold reserves. Gold producing countries argue that the bullion auctions would push the price of gold, which is at its lowest in 20 years, down further. A number of European central banks may follow the lead of the IMF and the UK Treasury. "We condemn this move in no uncertain terms," said Ghana's Mining and Energy Minister, Fred Ohene-Kena, after talks with a six-member South African delegation of government and industry officials. South Africa protests Mr Ohene-Kena warned that the sale of gold reserves would trigger "mass lay-offs" and have devastating effects on highly indebted countries. The decision by the UK treasury to auction off its bullion reserves earlier this month was met with protests by thousands of South African gold miners angry over job losses in the industry. According to the Financial Times annual survey of global companies, Ashanti Goldfields was rated the largest company in sub-Saharan Africa, registering market capitalisation levels of $733m for 1998. Ashanti is 33% owned by Lonmin plc, the mining group formerly known as Lonrho.

To: Kool Guy who wrote (37353)	7/19/1999 10:08:00 PM
From: banco$	Respond to of 116770

KG, these mutual funds performed quite well as the market decline continued through September and October. The following list came out on top for the prior three month period reported November 6th: Message 6335664