MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — U.S. MARKETS –Dow and gold slide in tandem

The Dow Jones Industrial average continued its slow slide, finishing the May 20-26 report period down 90.92 points (1%) at 8,963.73. Trading was light because of the Memorial Day holiday May 25.

All major mining issues were down, prompted by gold’s slide late in the week. Leading the way into negative territory was Newmont Gold, which dropped $1.65 to close at US$27.25, while parent company Newmont Mining dropped $1.80 to close at US$26.25.

Also on the New York Stock Exchange, Ashanti Goldfields slipped $1.15 to close at US$9.25, despite news that the a power shortage in Ghana, where the company mines gold, would be less severe than anticipated.

Homestake Mining announced its intention to acquire the remaining 49.4% stake in Prime Resources it doesn’t already own. Its share price fell half a dollar, closing at US$11.30.

Battle Mountain Gold lost 50 cents to close at US$5.55, while Coeur d’Alene Mines finished the week down 75 cents at US$8.95.

Getchell Gold, listed on the American Stock Exchange, fell $1.45 to end the week at US$19.55. On the Nasdaq, Lihir Gold dropped $2.25 to close at US$27.50, while American Depository Receipts for DeBeers Consolidated Mines lost $2.81 to close at US$21.

Among the juniors on the Nasdaq, Brush Creek Mining & Development continued to slide following the completion of a 10-for-1 share rollback designed to lift its bid price over the Nasdaq’s US$1 requirement. Its shares closed down 41 cents at US$1.53.