Beiträge von GSP-Komet

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jan 09, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- North American Palladium Ltd. (CA:PDL) (CA:PDL.WT) (PAL:
north amern palladium ltd com) (PAL.WS:
north amern palladium ltd *w exp 12/13/200) announced today that it has closed its over-allotment offering of units to the underwriters of its December 2007 public offering of units and to Kaiser-Francis Oil Company. A total of 2.8 million units were issued under the over-allotment exercise at a price of US$4.00 per unit, for total gross proceeds of US$11.2 million. After taking the over-allotment exercise into account, the total gross proceeds to the Company from the unit offering are approximately US$86 million.
The proceeds of the offering and the exercise of the over-allotment option will be used to fund the growth and development of the Company's operations and, in particular, to advance the Offset High Grade Zone Project, the Shebandowan West Project and the Arctic Platinum Project. The net proceeds of the offering and the exercise of the over-allotment option may also be used for general corporate purposes.
The lead manager of the underwriting syndicate for the December 2007 public unit offering was Merrill Lynch & Co. Co-managers were BMO Capital Markets, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. and UBS Securities Canada Inc.
About North American Palladium
North American Palladium is Canada's largest producer of palladium. The Company's core palladium business at the Lac des Iles mine is strengthened by a significant contribution from platinum, nickel, gold and copper by-product metals.

We are living in a resource constrained world, due to rapid depletion of many of the none-renewable natural resources, like oil, coal, and metal mineral resources. As the main stream media wake up to the Peak Oil reality, I believe it is important to keep the reality of a resource constrained world in our mind, when making investment decisions. In this article I want to talk about precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum and palladium, the rare metal tellurium and selenium, coal mines, agriculture, sugar, and fertilizers. Relate to these resources I will talk about the following stocks: PAAS, CDE, SLW, PAL, SWC, OMG, FSLR, JRCC, IPSU, POT, SEED, TNH, COIN, not necessarily in that order. This is the first part in a series. I will take about them in more detail in the future.

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But there is an ongoing catastrophe in my favorite long stock PAL right now. The catastrophy is not with the company's business, but rather, with the company's stock price! I predicted a palladium super bull cycle and recommended buying PAL and SWC. The palladium price rallied to multi-year high recently, but the PAL stock price reached multi-year low. That rather defies the logic! In a previous article I analyzed why PAL stock was punished, and called a bottom on Dec. 13. Looking back, the bottom price of $3.40 a share was called correctly. But PAL has yet to rally above $4 credible.
I encourage people to buy PAL below or near $4 a share. The reasons are not just the strong rally in precious metals recently, but more importantly, PAL's Q4 earnings will be released at the end of January or beginning of February. Since a considerable portion of the mine produced metal was not sold in Q3, but will be added to Q4 sales, it can be expected that the Q4 earnings result will be fantastic, boosting stock price.
More importantly, I sense that an explosive palladium rally is imminent now we have entered 2008. Traditionally, each year the Russians sell about 2 million ounces of extra palladium, from the government stockpile, flooding the global market and capping the metal price. They always shipped the government stockpile sale of palladium in one batch to Switzerland in the month of December. So far, year 2007 has ended, and there was no indication they shipped any palladium stockpile.
Palladium rallied in previous years despite of Russian stockpile sale. Now, when the fact that the Russians have finally depleted the stockpile becomes public knowledge, and people know that there is an industrial shortage without the Russian extra supply, you can expect the palladium price will explode.
SWC is also a good buy here, but relatively, PAL has better value at this price. You get more palladium production per dollar of stocks. Read my detailed comparison between the two.

* Vista Gold Corp. Announces Signing Of Agreement To Purchase Equipment For Paredones Amarillos Project, Mexico, And Results From A Preliminary Assessment Of Its Long Valley Gold Project, California

DENVER, Jan 07, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Vista Gold Corp. (VGZ: vista gold corp com new) (CA:VGZ) is pleased to announce that further to the Company's January 2, 2008 press release, the Company has entered into a formal agreement with A.M. King Industries, Inc. ("A.M. King") and Del Norte Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of A.M. King, to purchase gold processing equipment to be used at Vista's Paredones Amarillos Project in Baja California Sur, Mexico. As previously announced, the aggregate purchase price is approximately US$16 million, of which approximately US$8 million was paid on signing of the purchase agreement. Vista is currently considering various bridge loan or convertible debt alternatives with proceeds to be used for the purchase of the equipment and for other expenditures relating to the development of the Paredones Amarillos Project, thus allowing the Company to use current cash for other business purposes. As reported in Vista's press release dated June 21, 2007, the total capital requirements for the project were estimated in a June 2007 pre-feasibility study to be US$110 million. This cost may change as Vista completes the definitive studies that are in progress as a result of various scope changes, including an increase in estimated gold production to the range of 130,000 to 150,000 ounces per year, the incorporation of used equipment and the impact of inflation.
Vista is also pleased to announce the results from a preliminary assessment for Vista's Long Valley Project, Mono County, California, by Mine Development Associates, ("MDA") of Reno, Nevada, in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 standards under the direction of Mr. Neil Prenn, an independent Qualified Person. This preliminary assessment entitled "Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Long Valley Project, Mono County, California" is expected to be filed on SEDAR by Vista on or about January 9, 2008.

We are living in a resource constrained world, due to rapid depletion of many of the none-renewable natural resources, like oil, coal, and metal mineral resources. As the main stream media wake up to the Peak Oil reality, I believe it is important to keep the reality of a resource constrained world in our mind, when making investment decisions. In this article I want to talk about precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum and palladium, the rare metal tellurium and selenium, coal mines, agriculture, sugar, and fertilizers. Relate to these resources I will talk about the following stocks: PAAS, CDE, SLW, PAL, SWC, OMG, FSLR, JRCC, IPSU, POT, SEED, TNH, COIN, not necessarily in that order. This is the first part in a series. I will take about them in more detail in the future.

...

But there is an ongoing catastrophe in my favorite long stock PAL right now. The catastrophy is not with the company's business, but rather, with the company's stock price! I predicted a palladium super bull cycle and recommended buying PAL and SWC. The palladium price rallied to multi-year high recently, but the PAL stock price reached multi-year low. That rather defies the logic! In a previous article I analyzed why PAL stock was punished, and called a bottom on Dec. 13. Looking back, the bottom price of $3.40 a share was called correctly. But PAL has yet to rally above $4 credible.
I encourage people to buy PAL below or near $4 a share. The reasons are not just the strong rally in precious metals recently, but more importantly, PAL's Q4 earnings will be released at the end of January or beginning of February. Since a considerable portion of the mine produced metal was not sold in Q3, but will be added to Q4 sales, it can be expected that the Q4 earnings result will be fantastic, boosting stock price.
More importantly, I sense that an explosive palladium rally is imminent now we have entered 2008. Traditionally, each year the Russians sell about 2 million ounces of extra palladium, from the government stockpile, flooding the global market and capping the metal price. They always shipped the government stockpile sale of palladium in one batch to Switzerland in the month of December. So far, year 2007 has ended, and there was no indication they shipped any palladium stockpile.
Palladium rallied in previous years despite of Russian stockpile sale. Now, when the fact that the Russians have finally depleted the stockpile becomes public knowledge, and people know that there is an industrial shortage without the Russian extra supply, you can expect the palladium price will explode.
SWC is also a good buy here, but relatively, PAL has better value at this price. You get more palladium production per dollar of stocks. Read my detailed comparison between the two.

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Expands Natural Resources Focus into Uranium and Gold Opportunities

GREENWICH, Conn., HOUSTON and LONDON, Jan 10, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- First Reserve Corporation, the leading energy-focused private equity firm, together with partners AMCI Capital and Pamodzi Investment Holdings, today announced that it has made an equity investment in the creation of a new uranium company based in South Africa.
The uranium and gold assets known as the Cooke Section and owed by Randfontein Estates Limited, a subsidiary of Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited, will be sold into a new independent company ("Cooke") for US$420 million. First Reserve and partners will acquire a 60% interest in Cooke and focus the company on developing both the uranium and gold resources. Harmony will retain a 40% interest in Cooke.
The Cooke assets are comprised of three operational gold mines, a gold milling plant, a large tailings dump with significant uranium content as well as lower-grade gold and uranium dumps. Uranium, which is a byproduct of gold production from the mines, has accumulated in the dumps for over 20 years, and is today a significant above-ground resource which can be reprocessed and sold as a fuel source for the nuclear power industry.
"The investment provides First Reserve and its partners at AMCI Capital & Pamodzi a unique set of assets with a strong operating partner in Harmony to help optimize the uranium resource potential," said Alex Krueger, Managing Director of First Reserve Corporation. "The business plan involves purchasing the existing gold mine infrastructure and tailings dumps and constructing a new large-scale plant to reprocess the dumps for the significant uranium content. The gold assets will provide near term cash flow and represent additional upside through redevelopment and expansion of the mines to produce both the gold and uranium resources."
At a planned production level of over 2.2 million pounds per year, Cooke would be one of the 10 largest producers of uranium in operation. Worldwide demand for uranium is expected to increase from 175 million pounds in 2007 to between 235 million to 275 million pounds by 2020 as a result of significant growth in nuclear power generation assets.
"The strategic plan for this investment is to create a platform for a new world-class uranium producer at a time when uranium demand is increasing substantially," said Jeff Quake, Director of First Reserve Corporation. "This investment also continues to expand First Reserve's coal and iron ore mining expertise to include uranium and gold commodities with attractive growth opportunities."
About First Reserve
First Reserve Corporation is the oldest and largest private equity firm specializing in the energy industry. Founded in 1983, First Reserve was the first private equity investment firm to actively pursue building a broadly diversified global investment portfolio of companies involved in the various sectors of the energy industry. Since 1992, First Reserve has raised over $12.5 billion for its buyout-focused funds. The firm is currently investing from its most recent fund which closed in 2006 at approximately $8 billion. Throughout its 25-year history, the strong franchise that the firm has developed by investing exclusively in companies involved in the energy industry has served as a competitive advantage for First Reserve. For more information on First Reserve Corporation, visit http://www.firstreserve.com.
About AMCI Capital
AMCI Capital is a resources and energy focused private equity venture established in late 2006 with $800mm in capital commitments. AMCI Capital is managed by Hans Mende, President and co-founder of AMCI, and Mike Salamon, former executive director of BHP Billiton. AMCI was formed in 1986 and is active across the full range of ferrous and non-ferrous commodities and associated infrastructure. It presently has operations in Australia, South Africa, Mozambique, China, Europe and America. AMCI Capital is a strategically oriented investor which brings to bear the industry experience and insights of its staff and global network.
About Pamodzi Investment Holdings and PRF1
Pamodzi Investment Holdings is the fund advisor to Pamodzi Resources Fund Advisor (Proprietary) Limited, or PRF1, South Africa's largest private equity fund. With US$1.3 billion in funds available for investment and a credible experienced management team, PRF1 is well positioned as a strategic financial partner of choice to resource asset owners and co-investors.
Pamodzi, recently named South Africa's Black Management Forum Progressive Company of 2007, is a leading diversified investment company. Founded in 1996 by black South African professionals and entrepreneurs, the company has raised more than US$2.3 billion in equity and debt over the past decade, of which US$1.7 billion has come from offshore investors. The holding company has built a solid reputation of transforming its portfolio companies into market leaders and delivering superior returns -- a fact supported by its average IRR of 37% since inception. http://www.pamodzi.co.za.

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (... AU, DROOY, GFI, GBN, HMY)

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jan 04, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- North American Palladium Ltd. (CA:PDL) (CA:PDL.WT) (PAL:
north amern palladium ltd com) (PAL.WS:
north amern palladium ltd *w exp 12/13/200) announced today that Kaiser-Francis Oil Company has exercised its over-allotment right in relation to the Company's December 2007 public offering of units and will purchase from the Company an additional 700,000 units at a price of US$4.00 per unit. This is in addition to the previously announced exercise by the underwriters of the unit offering of their over-allotment option for 2.1 million units. After taking both over-allotment exercises into account, the total gross proceeds to the Company from the unit offering will be approximately US$86 million.
Each unit consists of one common share and one half of a common share purchase warrant of North American Palladium. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share at a price of US$5.05 per share at any time on or prior to December 13, 2009. The proceeds of the offering and the exercise of the over-allotment option will be used to fund the growth and development of the Company's operations and, in particular, to advance the Offset High Grade Zone Project, the Shebandowan West Project and the Arctic Platinum Project. The net proceeds of the offering and the exercise of the over-allotment option may also be used for general corporate purposes.
The lead manager of the underwriting syndicate for the December 2007 public unit offering was Merrill Lynch & Co. Co-managers were BMO Capital Markets, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. and UBS Securities Canada Inc.
About North American Palladium
North American Palladium is Canada's largest producer of palladium. The Company's core palladium business at the Lac des Iles mine is strengthened by a significant contribution from platinum, nickel, gold and copper by-product metals.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jan 04, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- North American Palladium Ltd. (CA:PDL) (CA:PDL.WT) (PAL:
north amern palladium ltd com) (PAL.WS:
north amern palladium ltd *w exp 12/13/200) announced today that the underwriters of its December 2007 public offering of units have exercised in full their over-allotment option and will purchase from the Company an additional 2.1 million units at a price of US$4.00 per unit. The exercise of this over-allotment option is expected to result in gross proceeds to the Company of US$8,400,000. The Company is awaiting notice from Kaiser-Francis Oil Company as to whether it will exercise its over-allotment right to purchase an additional 700,000 units.
Each unit consists of one common share and one half of a common share purchase warrant of North American Palladium. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share at a price of US$5.05 per share at any time on or prior to December 13, 2009. The proceeds of the offering and the exercise of the over-allotment option will be used to fund the growth and development of the Company's operations and, in particular, to advance the Offset High Grade Zone Project, the Shebandowan West Project and the Arctic Platinum Project. The net proceeds of the offering and the exercise of the over-allotment option may also be used for general corporate purposes.
The lead manager of the underwriting syndicate for the December 2007 public unit offering was Merrill Lynch & Co. Co-managers were BMO Capital Markets, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. and UBS Securities Canada Inc.
About North American Palladium
North American Palladium is Canada's largest producer of palladium. The Company's core palladium business at the Lac des Iles mine is strengthened by a significant contribution from platinum, nickel, gold and copper by-product metals.

Vista Gold Corp. Announces Agreement To Purchase Gold Processing Equipment And Appointment Of General Manager For The Paredones Amarillos Project, Mexico

DENVER, Jan 02, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Vista Gold Corp. (TSX & Amex: VGZ) is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement in principal with A.M. King Industries, Inc. ("A.M. King") and Del Norte Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of A.M. King, to purchase gold processing equipment to be used at Vista's Paredones Amarillos gold project in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The equipment includes a 10,000 tonne per day semi-autogenous (SAG) grinding mill, two ball mills, gyratory crusher and a shorthead cone crusher, along with other related components, spare parts, and other process plant equipment. The purchase price of US$16,010,000 will be payable in three installments -- the first payment of 50% of the purchase price (US$8,005,000) payable on signing of the purchase agreement and the second and third payments (25%, or US$4,002,500 each) payable based on an equipment delivery schedule with respective parameters targeted to occur in February and March, 2008. The purchase price includes the cost of relocating the equipment to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. From this point, Vista will arrange for reconditioning and transportation of the equipment to the Paredones Amarillos mine site. The equipment is presently located in northern Canada. Vista intends to purchase the equipment through its wholly owned subsidiary, Minera Paredones Amarillos, S.A. de C.V.
The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Carlos Calderon, Jr., as Vice President, Project Development, effective January 7. He will also have the title and duties of General Manager and Legal Representative for Minera Paredones Amarillos, S.A. de C.V. and will focus primarily on the development of the Paredones Amarillos Project. Mr. Calderon holds a M.Sc. degree in Mining Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines, and over the past 36 years has managed exploration, construction and operational projects in Latin America and the U.S., including serving as General Manager for the Paredones Amarillos Project for the prior operator, Echo Bay Mines until the project was put on hold when gold prices dropped in 1997.
Fred Earnest, President and COO, commented, "This purchase is an important milestone in the Company's goal to become a gold producer at the earliest possible time. The decision to purchase this major portion of the project's processing equipment re-affirms our earlier decision to place Paredones Amarillos into production and to do it as soon as possible. In addition to anticipated significant capital cost savings, we believe that the purchase and planned comprehensive reconditioning of this used equipment will save 12-18 months over the time required for the delivery of similar new equipment, thus helping us meet our development schedule. The development of the Paredones Amarillos Project is the first step in our plans to become a mid-tier gold producer. We are also very pleased to welcome Carlos Calderon to the Company. With his proven track record of building and operating mining projects, especially in Latin America, and his prior experience at Paredones Amarillos, we believe he will be a very important asset for the Company as well as the Paredones Amarillos Project, and will be able to get up to speed very quickly."
About Vista Gold Corp.
Since 2001, Vista has acquired a number of gold projects with the expectation that higher gold prices would significantly increase their value. Vista has recently completed a preliminary feasibility study on the Paredones Amarillos Project in Mexico that indicated positive results at gold prices lower than those now prevailing. Vista plans to confirm these results with a definitive feasibility study in 2008. Vista is undertaking programs to advance the Paredones Amarillos Project, including the purchase of long delivery equipment items, so that construction can begin during the second half of 2008. The results of a preliminary assessment completed in 2007 on the Mt. Todd Project in Australia were encouraging and additional technical studies are underway with a definitive feasibility study planned for completion by mid-2009. Vista's other holdings include the Guadalupe de los Reyes Project in Mexico, Yellow Pine Project in Idaho, Awak Mas Project in Indonesia, Long Valley Project in California, and Amayapampa Project in Bolivia.

South Africa-based Harmony Gold Mining Co. said yesterday that it appointed acting Chief Executive Graham Briggs as CEO effective at the start of the year.

Mr. Briggs has been acting CEO at Harmony, one of the world's biggest gold producers, since August. He had succeeded former Chief Executive Bernard Swanepoel, who resigned.

Mr. Briggs has been overseeing an operational review at Harmony, meant to cut costs and help the company return to profitability.

Mr. Swanepoel, who had been the chief architect of Harmony's growth from a single mine operation 12 years ago, and Nomfundo Qangule, the company's financial director, quit following an accounting problem.

Harmony Gold Mining Company said Wednesday that it has appointed Graham Briggs as Chief Executive Officer with effect from Jan. 1, 2008.

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"The other theme that has played out in the first few sessions of 2008 has been the run in the gold miners. This was tipped off in mid-December, when the institutional traders started accumulating Newmont Mining, Goldcorp and Gold Fields calls. The buyers have been rewarded handsomely, as these stocks have easily been the best performers of this young year.

And this was of course where the beauty of options has, if you'll pardon the pun, really shined! The leverage of options means rather than making 10% to 15% riding the stocks, the call buyers in Newmont, Goldcorp and Gold Fields had the potential to make 150% to 200% returns, as the options more than doubled from mid-December.

In closing I will point out that despite the apparent breakout that the technicians are touting for the precious metal, the smart money has begun taking off these positions, an indication that gold may be getting ready to catch its breath."

The price of gold may be at an all time high, but gold equities in South Africa are far from it. Weak operational factors such as rising costs and disappointing volumes are to blame, according to UBS Securities’ Simon Kendall.
One of those companies is Johannesburg-based Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI). On December 20, the miner guided down 3.5% for overall attributable production and up 8% for group unit cash costs (US$), or 3% in rand [R] terms, the analyst told clients in a note.
While cutting his price target to R120 from R125 (using an average gold price of $800 per ounce), Mr. Kendall hiked his recommendation to “buy” from “neutral” on recent share price weakness.
He also noted the elevated short interest in Gold Fields’ U.S. ADRs, which implies the potential for short covering in a strong gold price environment.

"As for the precious metals patch, UBS raised its rating on Gold Fields (GFI) to buy from neutral...."

Ryan Freund submits:
The price-to-earnings-growth [PEG] ratio is primarily a growth investing metric that measures the price-to-earnings ratio in relation to the growth rate the company will experience in the future. This metric is useful for determining if a company is under-valued when compared to its expected growth rate. Many growth investors use this figure when performing research, but few value investors believe it yields any useful information. The problem value investors have with this metric is that it relies on estimates of future growth. Value investors prefer hard facts, not estimates. Here at Freund Investing, however, we believe that the value investing methodology taught by Ben Graham and Warren Buffett can be enhanced by including certain growth metrics, including the PEG ratio.
As important as the PEG ratio is, it cannot be completely relied upon for investment selections. Rather, it should be used as one portion of the overall picture. Investments with low PEG ratios are often undervalued to begin with, and present a great source of investments which should be researched further. The following are the lowest 15 PEG ratios of all investments listed on the most common exchanges. The investment with the highest PEG ratio, Primus Guaranty, has a PEG of merely 0.27. The lowest is seen at Security Capital, with a PEG of only 0.11.

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13. Northgate Mineral (AMEX: NXG)
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TULSA, OKLAHOMA, Dec 21, 2007 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Kaiser-Francis Oil Company ("KFOC") announced that it participated in a public offering (the "Offering") of units (the "Units") of North American Palladium Ltd. ("NAPL") that closed on December 13, 2007 and acquired ownership of 4,666,667 Units at US$4 per Unit (the "Offering Price"). Each Unit consists of one common share (a "Common Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (a "New Warrant") of NAPL. Each New Warrant entitles KFOC to purchase one Common Share at a price of US$5.05 per share at any time on or prior to December 13, 2009. In addition, KFOC has a pre-existing right to purchase (the "Purchase Right") up to 700,000 additional Units (the "Additional Units") at the Offering Price in the event that the underwriters of the Offering fully exercise the underwriters' over-allotment option granted under the Offering (the "Underwriters' Over-allotment Option") to purchase up to 2,100,000 Units prior to January 11, 2008.
As a result of the Offering, KFOC acquired an additional 9.50% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, calculated on a partially diluted basis assuming the full exercise of the Underwriters' Over-allotment Option and the full exercise of the Purchase Right by KFOC to acquire the Additional Units, and the full conversion by KFOC of the Notes (as described below) and the exercise by KFOC of all of the Warrants (as described below).
Immediately following the Offering, KFOC owned 32,609,657 Common Shares. In addition, KFOC held a series I convertible note, the remaining outstanding principal amount of which is US$7,777,777 (the "Series I Note"), a series II convertible note, the remaining outstanding principal amount of which is US$9,000,000 (the "Series II Note") (the Series I Note and the Series II Note, collectively, the "Notes"), 718,391 series I common share purchase warrants (the "Series I Warrants"), 554,187 series II common share purchase warrants (the "Series II Warrants") and 2,333,333 New Warrants (the Series I Warrants, Series II Warrants and the New Warrants, collectively, the "Warrants") and has the Purchase Right.
As a result of the Offering, the conversion price of each of the Series I Note and Series II Note decreased from US$12.18 to US$9.12 and from US$12.18 to US$6.67, respectively. The remaining outstanding principal amount of the Series I Note is convertible into approximately 852,826 Common Shares based on the new conversion price of US$9.12. The remaining outstanding principal amount of the Series II Note is convertible into approximately 1,349,325 Common Shares based on the new conversion price of US$6.67.
The exercise price of each of the Series I Warrants and Series II Warrants also decreased from US$13.48 to US$10.73 and from US$13.48 to US$7.85, respectively. Each Warrant is exercisable into one Common Share.
Immediately following the Offering, assuming the full exercise of the Underwriters' Overallotment Option and the full exercise of the Purchase Right by KFOC to acquire the Additional Units, and the full conversion by KFOC of the Notes and the exercise by KFOC of all of the Warrants (including the New Warrants in the Additional Units), KFOC's securityholding percentage in respect of Common Shares would be approximately 46.58% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, calculated on a partially diluted basis, based on the assumptions noted above.
KFOC acquired the Units for investment purposes and it may, depending on market and other conditions, increase its beneficial ownership, control or direction over Common Shares or other securities of NAPL, through market transactions, private agreements, treasury issuances or otherwise.
KFOC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GBK Corporation, which in turn is controlled by Mr. George B. Kaiser and members of his family. GBK Corporation and Mr. George B. Kaiser may be presumed to be joint actors with KFOC.

Contacts:
Kaiser-Francis Oil Company
Steve Walton
(918) 583-9920

SOURCE: Kaiser-Francis Oil Company

Vista Gold Corp. Announces Agreements to Purchase Properties Adjacent to the Guadalupe de los Reyes Project in Mexico to Consolidate Vista's Land Position and Increase Vista's Estimated Gold and Silver Resources

DENVER, Dec 19, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Vista Gold Corp. (VGZ: vista gold corp com new) is pleased to announce that it and Grandcru Resources Corporation have signed an agreement for Vista to acquire Grandcru's interest in two gold/silver mineral properties adjacent to Vista's Guadalupe de los Reyes project in Sinaloa, Mexico, subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vista will (a) pay Grandcru US$425,000 less any amounts payable in back taxes on the mining concessions, and pay a private investment group known as the San Miguel Group US$75,000, and (b) issue to Grandcru and the San Miguel Group, in aggregate, common shares of Vista with a value of US$1,000,000 on closing. In addition, Vista has reached agreement with Goldcorp Inc. and its Mexican subsidiary, Desarrollos Mineros San Luis, S.A. de C.V. (together, "San Luis"), and with the San Miguel Group to complete the acquisition of their respective interests at the same time as the closing occurs with Grandcru. Vista will pay a 2% net smelter returns royalty ("NSR") on all minerals produced payable to the San Miguel Group on the mining concessions known as the San Miguel Concessions. Vista will pay San Luis a 1% NSR on mining concessions known as the San Luis Concessions and the San Miguel Concessions, and 2% to 3% NSR depending on the gold price on Vista's mining concessions known as the Gaitan Concessions. At gold prices below US$499.99 per ounce, the royalty payable to San Luis on the Gaitan Concessions will be 2% and at or above US$500 per ounce, the royalty will be 3%. Certain of the San Luis Concessions are subject to a pre-existing underlying royalty of 3% NSR payable to Sanluis Corporacion, S.A. de C.V.
As previously announced by Vista on September 29, 2003, a resource study on the portion of the Guadalupe de los Reyes property held by Vista was completed on July 17, 2003, by Pincock, Allen & Holt Ltd., of Lakewood, Colorado, an independent consulting firm, in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 guidelines under the supervision of Leonel Lopez and Mark G. Stevens, independent qualified persons, and titled "Technical Report for the Guadalupe de Los Reyes Gold-Silver Project, State of Sinaloa, Western Mexico" and filed on SEDAR under Vista Gold Corp. The results of the study indicated that at a cutoff grade of 0.5 g/t gold, the portion of the property held by Vista contains 6.3 million tonnes grading 1.36 g/t gold and 23.0 g/t silver for an estimated 277,600 ounces of gold and 4.7 million ounces of silver in the indicated resources(1) category, and 3.8 million tonnes grading 2.01 g/t gold and 65.6 g/t silver for an estimated 247,850 ounces of gold and 8.1 million ounces of silver in the inferred resources(2) category.
A resource analysis on the portion of the Guadalupe de los Reyes property that Grandcru holds an interest in was completed for Grandcru on April 11, 2005, by Pincock Allen & Holt Ltd. of Lakewood, Colorado, in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 guidelines under the supervision of Leonel Lopez and Mark G. Stevens, independent qualified persons, and titled "Technical Report, Los Reyes, Gold-Silver Project, State of Sinaloa, Western Mexico" and filed on SEDAR under Grandcru Resources Corporation. The results of the study indicated that at a cutoff grade of 0.5 g/t gold, the portion of the property covered by Grandcru's option contains 3.7 million tonnes grading 1.73 g/t gold and 30.4 g/t silver for an estimated 207,000 ounces of gold and 3.6 million ounces of silver in the indicated resources(1) category, and 1.0 million tonnes grading 2.05 g/t gold and 39.4 g/t silver for an estimated 68,000 ounces of gold and 1.3 million ounces of silver in the inferred resources(2) category.

Dec 19, 2007 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Vista Gold Corp. (VGZ) said it signed an agreement with Grandcru Resources Corp. to acquire Grandcru's interest in two gold and silver mineral properties adjacent to Vista's Guadalupe de los Reyes project in Sinaloa, Mexico.
The Denver mining company will pay Grandcru $425,000 less back taxes, and pay San Miguel Group, a private investment group, $75,000. Vista will also issue Grandcru and San Miguel $1 million in Visa shares.
Vista will pay a 2% net smelter returns royalty on all minerals produced to San Miguel.

* Vista Gold Corp. Announces Agreements To Purchase Properties Adjacent To The Guadalupe De Los Reyes Project In Mexico To Consolidate Vista's Land Position And Increase Vista's Estimated Gold And Silver Resources

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Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Harmony Gold (HMY: harmony gold mng ltd sponsored adr)...

Analyst Blog:
Harmony Gold (HMY: harmony gold mng ltd sponsored adr) is benefiting from higher gold prices and a weaker South African Rand relative to the U.S. dollar. The weaker South African rand is increasing the company's realized gold prices in local terms. Going forward, Harmony is focused on reducing its overall operating costs through its CONOPS agreement and the shutdown of loss making shafts. Currently, Harmony is trading at 0.7X P/NPV, based on a NPV of $13.20 per American Depositary Receipt (ADR). Over the past five years, the company's ADRs have traded between 1.5x and 3.0x P/NPV. Harmony's attractive pipeline of long-term growth projects will boost production and higher gold prices will support top-line growth.