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

To: long-gone who wrote (14761)	7/21/1998 6:02:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116763

Somebody asked whether Greenspan talked about gold...Sure he did "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Tuesday praised the U.S. economy as healthy and strong but warned either an uptick in inflation or a more severe blow from Asia's troubles could change its fortunes." :)

To: long-gone who wrote (14761)	7/21/1998 6:13:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116763

FOCUS-Gold rivals seal pact on premier SAfrica mine 10:52 a.m. Jul 21, 1998 Eastern By Darren Schuettler JOHANNESBURG, July 21 (Reuters) - South Africa's gold giants, Anglogold Ltd and Gold Fields Ltd, have sealed a joint venture agreement to share the country's most-coveted gold mine after months of bitter wrangling. The Driefontein mine is expected to report that it only broke even in the June quarter when it reports on Friday. But analysts say a costly shakeup will transform the mine into a top performer for the world's two largest gold producers. Anglogold and Gold Fields both wanted control of Driefontein, but settled for a 60-40 split in favour of Gold Fields in May. Gold Fields managing director Tom Dale told Reuters on Tuesday that an offer would be made to buyout minority Driefontein shareholders when market conditions are calmer. South African markets have been in turmoil for 10 weeks as foreign speculators savaged the rand, lopping 22 percent off the rand's value against the dollar since late May. ''We need to see market circumstances settle down. When we judge the market right we will make an offer,'' Dale said in a telephone interview. Gold Fields and Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd (GFSA) hold 37.8 percent of Driefontein, while Anglogold and Anglo American Corp of South Africa Ltd have 21.5 percent. If the offer is successful, Gold Fields and Anglogold will respectively own 60 percent and 40 percent of Driefontein, which will be delisted. A management team has been appointed to run Driefontein and the partnership is working well, Dale said. ''The guts of the agreement is that Driefontein will be managed independently with the intention of enhancing shareholder returns,'' he said. Anglogold chief executive Bobby Godsell, who once described the struggle for the mine as two dogs fighting over a bone, said he was confident the two rivals could work together. ''We have an opportunity to see what we can do with the best ore body in South Africa,'' Godsell told analysts at a briefing on Anglogold's June quarterly results on Monday. Driefontein was not included in Anglogold's report, but analysts expect flat results from the mine on Friday. ''At this stage Driefontein is going through a major restructuring. We will see the benefits coming through in the next six months,'' Gerhard Kemp, an analyst at BOE Natwest Securities Ltd, said on Tuesday. The mine suffered a fire in its East Driefontein number 4 shaft in May that was put out after three weeks and reduced output. In the quarter to March, Driefontein reported a sharp drop in operating income to 33.5 million rand ($5.46 million) from 121.5 million rand, excluding 80.2 million rand in restructuring costs. Gold output in the March quarter fell to 11,469 kg from 12,562 kg in the December quarter. Working costs rose by about 5,000 rand to 43,604 rand per kg. The battle for Driefontein began last November when Anglogold and Gold Fields were born from mergers of various bullion assets. Gold Fields, formed after GFSA and Gencor Ltd combined their gold holdings, intended to use Driefontein as the vehicle for its creation. But Anglo American voted against the proposal and sparked a tug-of-war for control of the mine. At the time, analysts speculated that Anglo American wanted Driefontein for Anglogold, which was formed through a merger of Anglo's gold assets. Gold Fields and Anglogold resolved their differences after reaching a compromise over future plans for deep-level mining. Driefontein sits over a vast gold-rich area called Western Ultra Deeps which may hold up to 1,500 tonnes of gold at levels between 4,000 and 5,000 metres. The mine offers many synergies to Anglogold's neighbouring deep-level mine, Western Deep Levels. ''There is so much synergy that it's too bad this didn't happen 20 years ago,'' Kemp said. While both firms have hailed the joint venture as a milestone agreement for South Africa's gold industry, Gold Fields chairman Brian Gilbertson said in May when the deal was announced that they would remain ''cutthroat competitors.'' To which Godsell quickly replied: ''Absolutely.'' (Johannesburg newsroom, 27 11 482 1003, newsroomreuters.co.za)) ($1-6.1290 Rand) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.