MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — U.S. MARKETS — Gold soars…finally

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 322.94 points, or 3%, to close at 10,275.53 for the week ended Sept. 28, as gold skyrocketed on news that the European central banks would be curbing gold sales.

Spot gold added US$47.80 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange to close at US$308 per oz., sending investors on a buying spree for producers.

With astronomical trading volumes, miners picked up ground they had lost during a nearly 2-year slump. Newmont Mining gained $5.25 to close at US$27.06, trading 22.9 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Anglogold advanced $7.94 to close at US$34.50.

Other African producers fared well, including Durban Roodepoort Deeps, which added 69 cents to US$2.38, and Harmony Gold Mining, which was up $2.22 to US$6.38 on Nasdaq trading. Ghana’s Ashanti Goldfields gained $1.75 to close at US$8.75.

Battle Mountain Gold nearly doubled its share price, up $1.68 to close at US$3.62; Nasdaq’s Lihir Gold jumped $7.75 to US$23.50; and Homestake Mining added $1.43 to close at US$9.32.

Class A and B shares of Freeport-

McMoRan Copper & Gold climbed 94 cents and $1 to close at US$14.25 and US$15.94, respectively.

Mid-sized Glamis Gold shot up 50%, rising 87 cents to US$2.56, while Meridian Gold rose 33%, up $1.93 to US$7.81.

In copper, Asarco gained $6.56 to close at US$27, after Grupo Mexico announced a takeover bid. Its rival, Phelps Dodge, lost $1.50 to close at US$55.69, while would-be partner Cyprus Amax Minerals picked up $1.75 to close at US$19.12.