US markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index ended a five-week winning streak despite glimmers of hope that the U.S. Federal Reserve may provide more stimulus, and news that the European Central Bank could set targets in a new bond-buying program to restrain borrowing costs. The Dow fell 0.88%, or 117.23 points to finish at 13,157.97, while the benchmark S&P 500 slipped 0.50%, or 7.03 points to 1,411.13. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index rose 5.31%, or 8.49 points, to 168.50.

A positive decision from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management authorizing Allied Nevada’s amended plan of operations for a heap-leach expansion at its wholly owned Hycroft mine in Nevada sent the company’s shares up US$3.25 to US$31.86 apiece. The approval allows the company to expand mining areas and build and operate large north and south leach pads that should more than support the current life-of-mine heap leach reserve, the company says.

Randgold Resources was up US$3.21 to US$100.71. On Aug. 23 the company welcomed a new interim government appointed in Mali, which it said “represents a further step towards the full normalization of the country following the coup attempt earlier this year.” Randgold operates the Loulo and Gounkoto gold mines in Mali as well as the Morila joint-venture project.

Keegan Resources posted the fourth-largest percentage gain of the week, climbing 24.6% to US$3.64 per share on the back of a plan to cut costs at its Esaase gold project in Ghana. Keegan outlined in a recent management discussion and analysis that the project’s economics could be improved by increasing ore grade through selectively mining the deposit instead of bulk mining, and by processing with flotation rather than whole-ore leaching. Reduced plant capacity to 4 million tonnes per year from 7.5 million to 9 million tonnes per year would also cut capital costs to US$260 million, from initial estimates of US$506 million in a 2011 prefeasibility study.  

Kinross Gold traded up 72¢ to US$9.03, as it arranged a new US$1-billion term loan that matures in August 2015 and has no mandatory amortization payments.

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