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Gold/Mining/Energy : Barrick Gold (ABX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bob Howarth who wrote (1473)	11/26/1999 11:46:00 AM
From: nickel61	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3558

Newmont has all the characteristics that American Barrick has with a much lower hedge exposure. About 5% I believe and more impotantly they haven't forgotten why shareholders want to own gold stocks. To be exposed to the appreciating value of the large gold reserves. Without this there is little reason to own them.The problem with any very heavily hedged producer you aren't really aware of exactly what their posture is until it is too late. The nature of these hedging contracts (which in ABX's case would all be custom negotiated OTC traded contracts) at best there is no way to fully understand what bets you are making as a shareholder. And as one of the prior posters commented they have been consistent. This is not necessarily a virtue if indeed the market has changed.If the market hasn't changed then ABX is well postured. Many professional gold investors feel that various parties have colluded in the last five years to drive down the price of gold and there success has cost gold shareholders as a group billions. I don't know if ABX was a factor in these supposed actions but it is clear that the 500 tonnes of gold they have sold short hasn't helped.Hedging to offset the natural risks of your business is one thing, piling on to destroy the balance sheets of your competitors so you can pick their bones is another. If it were true than of course it would be illegal,and our vigilant watchdogs at the CFTC would be all over the perpetrators. Lots of smoke, no gun yet. Other relatively unhedged gold mining stocks that trade in size are Homestake,Goldfields,Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold(large Indonesia risk though) and Agnico Eagle AEM.Good luck.