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

To: E. Charters who wrote (981)	11/2/1997 8:02:00 PM
From: go4it	Respond to of 3744

Well, I will have to concede that one to you because precious metals experience implies all encompassing although it does not specifically state Pt I guess it is implied. I don't know what the problem was with extraction and why BD could not come through but nevertheless it does sound like a great organization to be working with you on a property. I also have a special treat for you tonight. Just for you and those that felt I was misrepresenting myself, I went back and dug out an old post of mine. exchange2000.com Chuck

To: E. Charters who wrote (981)	11/2/1997 8:26:00 PM
From: GOLDIGER	Respond to of 3744

Hi E, Should we go long or short? JOHANNESBURG -(Dow Jones)- South African gold-mining companies have been plunged into a fresh crisis as the latest slump in the precious metal's price triggers another stampede out of the sector by equity investors. Analysts say some of the panic now buffeting gold-mining stocks is justified, with several major operators no longer profitable at the metal's current price and left facing urgent restructuring or closure. The new round of tumult was triggered Friday, when a panel of Swiss experts recommended that the Swiss National Bank sell 1,400 metric tons of gold, or 54% of its reserves. A decision on the proposal isn't likely until 1999, but gold for December delivery still closed $16.10 lower at $308.60 a troy ounce Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division after falling to a 12-year low of $308.30. Some companies have hedged their production against just such a calamitous fall in the metal's value and so are expected to ride the storm out for as long as a year without severe impact on earnings. But gold and gold-related stocks are among the most sentiment-sensitive of investments, and analysts expect shares in the sector to take a pounding in the short term, regardless of producers' hedging strategies. Analysts singled out Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd. (GLDFY) as most vulnerable to the latest tumble in the precious metal's price. Barry Sargeant, gold analyst at BoE NatWest Securities Ltd. in Johannesburg, said a gold price nearing $300.00 an ounce will mean a drop of 36% in earnings per share at the company in 1998. Earnings per share could be between 20% and 25% lower at the gold divisions of JCI Ltd., Gencor Ltd. (GNCRY) and Anglo American Corp. (ANGLY), he added. Local analysts are scrambling to gauge the impact on the industry of the metal's latest slide. The immediate outlook is for job losses, shaft closures and sharply reduced spending on desperately needed improvements and expansions. As for the local industry, an ING Barings analyst estimated that at gold's current price, operations at Vaal Reefs Exploration & Mining Co. (VAALY), Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HGMCY), Kloof Gold Mining Co. (KLOFY), Evander Gold Mines Ltd. (EGMVY), Avgold Ltd. (AVGLY), Deelkraal Gold Mining Co. (DLKRY) and Western Areas Gold Mining Co. all will lose money. Henk de Hoop, a gold-stocks analyst at BoE NatWest, believes Free State Consolidated Gold Mines Ltd. (FSCNY) will most likely be the first company forced to close some of its shafts. Freegold, as it is known, is controlled by Anglo. "The Anglo mines look the best because of the quality of their mines, except for Freegold, where they will have to close a number of shafts sooner than expected," de Hoop said. "Production at Freegold will come down to 40 tons (per year) from 68 tons when these shafts are closed. There are a few low-grade shafts they had expected to be able to run on a lean-and-mean basis, but I don't think the gold price - at these levels - will permit that now." But several operators - Anglo among them - have hedged against a weaker gold price and are expected to bounce back once the market's knee-jerk reaction dissipates. Gold's slump also will wreck calculations for the merger of Gold Fields' operations with Gencor's gold division, which will take place via a series of large share exchanges involving Driefontein, Kloof, Beatrix and Evander. GOLDIGER.