Beiträge von frr

Es ist immer gut auch die Risken zu beleuchten.

Ich denke ich kenne sowohl die Geschichte der IMA als auch das Management sehr gut. Habe mit Joe Grosso schon seit seiner "alten" Amera zu tun und habe seither seine Integrität nur bestätigt gesehen. Dies ist zweifellos auch nachzuempfinden, wenn man weiss dass die Gruppe bereits 1992/93 zu den ersten Juniors zählten, die nach Argentinien gingen; Noch dazu mit der Erfahrung von Vincente Mendez, der damals bereits seit 20 Jahren die geologische Gesellschaft Argentiniens leitete.

Ausserdem glaube ich kaum dass Canaccord's Peter Brown 7.5 Mio $ ausspuckt, wenn er nicht von Co. überzeugt wäre!

IMA Finalizes $7.5 Million Bought Deal Financing

Not for dissemination in the United States or through US Wire Service

IMA Exploration Inc. is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Capital Corporation and including Paradigm Capital Inc. and First Associates Investments Inc. who have agreed to purchase, on a bought-deal private placement basis, 2,500,000 units of the Company at a purchase price of $3.00 per unit, for total proceeds of $7.5 million. Each unit will consist of one common share and one half common share purchase warrant. Each full warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share in the capital of the Company for a period of 4 years at $3.45 per share. The underwriters will be paid a commission of 6% cash and 7% underwriter's warrants. The underwriter's warrants will be exercisable at a price of $3.25 per warrant, for a period of twenty four months.

The offering and closing is subject to regulatory approval and normal closing conditions. This financing has a four-month hold period.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and registration is available. Not for distribution to US newswire services or for dissemination in the United States.

The proceeds from this financing will be used for general working capital and for further exploration and development of the Company's property portfolio. The Company has over 10 years experience in Argentina and is focused on the environmentally and socially responsible exploration and development of its 100% owned Navidad silver discovery.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Joseph Grosso"

President & CEO

News Release - Wednesday, August 17, 2005
IMA Intersects More Silver NW of Calcite Hill and Prepares to
Test the Argenta Trend
=======================================================================

IMA Exploration Inc. is pleased to announce results from ongoing
drilling at its 100% owned Navidad Project in Patagonia, Argentina.
Drilling is continuing on the Calcite Hill NW Extension Zone and the
Company is making preparations to drill the high grade Loma de la Plata
Zone which lies along the Argenta Trend to the southwest of the Navidad
Trend. Additional drill holes have also been completed along the
northeastern flank of the Calcite Hill Deposit and adjacent to the
southern flank of Navidad Hill Deposit; results from these holes are
expected shortly.

Results reported below include diamond drill holes 189 to 204.
Significant silver and lead values were obtained from the Calcite Hill
NW Extension Zone centred about 500m to the northwest of the Calcite
Hill mineral resource announced on June 16, 2005. Highlights include
29m of 154 g/t silver from hole 203 and 22.5m of 102 g/t silver and
2.79% lead from hole 201, both from the Calcite NW Extension area.

Surface results from the Loma de la Plata zone include 40m of 740 g/t
(21.6 oz per ton) silver. This target has returned consistent
high-grade silver values from surface sampling and has never been drill
tested (see press release dated January 6, 2005). IMA is now making
preparations to drill this high priority target. To date on the project
the Company has defined an Indicated Resource of 300.7 million ounces
of silver and 1.2 million tonnes of lead (92.8 million tonnes at 101
g/t silver and 1.36 % lead using a 50 g/t silver equivalent cut-off).

Eleven new drill holes (189-192 and 198-204) were collared at the
Calcite Hill NW Extension Zone and cover an area spanning approximately
1200 metres of strike length. Results from this drilling include
intercepts from holes 199 (31.1m of 62 g/t silver and 1.29% lead), 201
(22.5m of 104 g/t silver and 2.79% lead), 202 (10m of 435 g/t silver),
and 203 (29m of 154 g/t silver).

The mineralization at Calcite Hill Northwest is dominantly hosted in
sedimentary rocks that overly the volcanic rocks which host the
majority of the mineralization at Navidad Project. Within the overlying
sediments strong clay alteration is widespread and affects pelites,
sandstones and conglomerates. Mineralization can be lead-rich with
silver (hole 201), or lead-poor but with minor values in copper and
higher silver grades (holes 202 and 203). Fine-grained but visible,
disseminated native silver was located within a carbonaceous bed in
hole 203. This is a new mode of occurrence of silver at Navidad
Project. At Calcite Hill Northwest mineralization appears to be
stratigraphically controlled and is disseminated in the host rock;
veins or feeder structures have not been recognized. Additional
drilling is warranted to explore for extensions to the higher-grade
mineralization in holes 179 (previously published) and new holes 202
and 203 which are open along strike and towards the southwest.

Hole 197 was collared on Galena Hill in order to collect material for
ongoing metallurgical testwork. The hole returned 74m of 239 g/t silver
and 1.97% lead, results that match or exceed those predicted by
Snowden's block model that was used to produce the Galena Hill resource
estimation of 207 million ounces of contained silver (63.6 M tonnes at
101 g/t silver and 1.76% lead, see news release dated May 25, 2004).
Approximately 113 kg of mineralized rock from this hole were shipped to
the laboratory where flotation testwork is currently underway.

Drill holes 193 to 196 were reconnaissance or stratigraphic holes
designed to improve IMA's geological and structural understanding of
the Navidad Project. Of note amongst these holes is hole 196 which was
collared approximately 2.7 km south of Galena Hill between the
Esperanza and Argenta Trends. This hole intersected 66.55m of the
favourable trachyandesite stratigraphy starting at 223m depth. The
nearest outcrops of this stratigraphic unit are located over 900m to
the south in the Argenta Trend. The upper 24 metres of the unit are
anomalous in silver and lead and a 3.6 m portion of it contained 1.23%
lead with 15 g/t silver associated with visible galena mineralization
(true thicknesses are uncertain but the hole cut beds at a nearly
perpendicular angle). This appears to be the same contact which hosts
the majority of the mineralization elsewhere at the project and
demonstrates the large aerial extent and continuity of mineralization
at or near this important contact at the Navidad Project and highlights
the potential for discoveries of mineralization that does not outcrop.

IMA is well financed to continue to test the numerous exploration
targets at Navidad with significant drill programs. The Company has
over 10 years experience in Argentina and is focused on the
environmentally and socially responsible exploration and development of
its 100% owned Navidad silver discovery.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Joseph Grosso"

Mr. Joseph Grosso, President & CEO

For further information please contact Joseph Grosso, President & CEO,
or Sean Hurd, Investor Relations Manager, at 1-800-901-0058 or
604-687-1828, or fax 604-687-1858, or by email info@imaexploration.com,
or visit the Company's web site at http://www.imaexploration.com.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain
information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to
explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining
guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents
filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits
on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our
properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements
including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content
of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of
property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc.
Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and
therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may
differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Table 1: diamond drill hole results

---------------------------------------------------------------------
composite g/t % % %
DDH Location from to length Silver Copper Lead Zinc
(m) (m) (m) (LWA) (LWA) (LWA) (LWA)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-189 Calcite NW 55.50 68.82 13.32 30 0.03 1.07 0.10
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-190 Calcite NW 48.67 53.10 4.43 107 0.00 3.06 0.08
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-191 Calcite NW 8.00 30.86 22.86 36 0.01 0.40 0.17
including 26.00 30.86 4.86 81 0.03 0.80 0.04
and 43.51 44.47 0.96 46 0.07 3.83 0.10
and 76.81 84.66 7.85 49 0.00 0.96 0.04
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-192 Calcite NW 17.82 22.07 4.25 19 0.00 1.29 0.03
and 36.50 39.08 2.58 26 0.00 1.44 0.57
and 97.78 101.74 3.96 26 0.00 2.06 0.58
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-193 recce no significant assays
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-194 recce no significant assays
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-195 recce no significant assays
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-196 recce 223.40 227.00 3.60 15 0.00 1.23 0.05
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-197 Galena Hill 94.94 168.98 74.04 239 0.08 1.97 0.16
including 94.94 117.36 22.42 294 0.03 4.80 0.20
and 143.23 168.98 25.75 348 0.15 0.31 0.20
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-198 Calcite NW 0.00 7.40 7.40(x) 1019(x) 0.01 0.97 1.20
and 7.40 32.30 24.90 13 0.00 0.87 0.09
and 106.75 108.83 2.08 52 0.00 2.04 0.18
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-199 Calcite NW 0.00 53.10 53.10 52 0.00 1.09 0.12
including 0.00 31.11 31.11 66 0.00 1.44 0.19
including 21.41 31.11 9.70 141 0.00 3.11 0.03
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-200 Calcite NW 86.35 91.20 4.85 41 0.00 1.64 0.31
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-201 Calcite NW 118.26 140.76 22.50 102 0.03 2.79 0.09
including 129.02 140.76 11.74 166 0.05 3.86 0.04
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-202 Calcite NW 61.15 71.10 9.95 449 0.08 0.24 0.01
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-203 Calcite NW 47.00 75.96 28.96 154 0.06 0.30 0.01
including 59.00 71.00 12.00 335 0.14 0.01 0.01
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NV05-204 Calcite NW 71.00 119.12 48.12 60 0.02 0.14 0.00
including 71.00 77.00 6.00 113 0.03 0.18 0.00
and 113.00 119.12 6.12 307 0.04 0.57 0.04
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(x)Note: The first 7.4m of hole NV05-198 had just 7% core recovery
and were lumped into a single sample which assayed 1019 g/t silver.
The significance of this high assay is uncertain due to the poor
recovery and hence the sample has not been combined with adjacent
mineralization which had normal core recovery but much lower grades.

View Navidad Drill Results (PDF)
http://www.imaexploration.com/i/pdf/IMA-NR20050817.pdf

=======================================================================
Copyright (c) 2005 IMA EXPLORATION INC. (IMR) All rights reserved.
For more information visit our website at
http://www.imaexploration.com/ or send
mailto:requests@imaexploration.com
Message sent on Wed Aug 17, 2005 at 7:22:03 AM Pacific Time
=======================================================================

ghost god, by god -

Zitat: ***Als die LBMA an die Öffentlichkeit ging haben sie behauptet etwa 2-3 mal jährlich die gesamte bisherige Goldproduktion zu traden. Sag mir wie das gehen soll?

Das geht ganz schnell - zumindest theoretisch. Heute long, morgen short - da kommen einige Volumina ueber's Jahr zusammen. ***

... Und das ist physischer Handel - glaubst doch selbst nicht, oder?

Reines papertrading und noch dazu in Form von immer höher "ge-leveragten" Positionen, um die Roll Overs zu bewerkstelligen. Die ZB's, die diesen Bullion Banke(r)n und sonstigen Shorters ihr Gold geliehen haben sind nun ordentlich am Schwitzen. Sosehr, dass der WWF(IMF) ihren ZBs angeraten gold receivables als physisches Gold auszuweisen. Nicht umsonst glauben Veneroso und andere, dass die ausgewiesenen Goldreserven der (v.a.) westlichen ZBs ein Vielfaches an Gold verbraten haben als sie ausweisen.

Love fairy tales - aber wenns ums Gold geht bleib bei Tatsachen!
Hast mal die BuBa gefragt wo eigentlich ihre 3.400 Tonnen sind - die sind wie Fort Knox seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr offiziell geprüft worden.

MfG

Als die LBMA an die Öffentlichkeit haben sie behauptet etwa 2-3 mal jährlich die gesamte bisherige Goldproduktion zu traden. Sag mir wie das gehen soll? Unter anderem haben sie mein Bullion nicht getraded - habe zwar keine good delivery LBMA Bars (sob), aber hier saaen sie es selbst.

Direct from the horses mouth:

" The London bullion market is the hub of global OTC precious metals trading, providing an unparalled range of products and services for its customers, including central banks, consumers, producers and investors."
Daneben soll's noch ein paar Plätze geben, die "Gold traden", Crimex (sorry) Comex ist nur einer.
Zürich behauptet ebenso der grösste Umschlagplatz an physischen Gold zu sein. Historisch wars lange so, und ich würde meinen es ist immer noch so.

Vielleicht hast Du nur 'nen Buchstaben in Deinem Handle vergessen - klingt nach ghost gold - pun intended um Dich aufzuwecken - aber nicht bösartig gemeint - das ist schon die LBMA selbst.

Beste Grüsse

@ ghost god - Seit die LBMA an die Öffentlichkeit ging - denke es war 1995/96 - haben sich die jählichen Umsätze in diesem grössten "Papier-Gold" Markt aller Zeiten um etwa 2/3 zurückgebildet. In der Zwischenzeit haben sich so potente Teilnehmer wie etwa Rothshild von der LBMA getrennt.

Wissen die etwas was wir nicht wissen?

Quote from another board:
Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 9:57 am Post subject: XCal Resources (T.XCL)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an interesting company that has signed a solid JV deal with PDG in the hot Cortez Trend of Nevada for their Mill Creek property. They stand to pocket $5 million if PDG exercises the option, and they will still be in line for a 1.5% NSR from any production. PDG has just announced a drilling program to complete their DD before making the decision.

I played XCL back about 10 years ago during the last PM boom that abruptly came to an end when Bre-X blew up. I do not own any shares in the company now, but if this current deal comes to pass, then I would imagine XCL will be a cash rich player to work their other properties, and have a royalty income stream down the road. Sure looks like a good way to play a long term bull market for PM stocks.

cheers!

mike

Ich sch dem an und sehe sogar mehr Interesse von PDG an der grossen Story - Sleeper - eine JV mit NWS ...

Unüberhörbar ...

Aug.12
<snip> from richard russell today.
The only real money is gold or silver. Secondary money, in my opinion, is platinum and probably gem-quality diamonds with sapphires, rubies and emeralds close behind. Diamond prices have been going "through the roof" as has the price of emeralds. Oil ("black gold") is at record highs as is platinum. Yesterday, gold broke out to its highest level in five months. And yesterday the US dollar broke out of a distribution pattern to the downside.

And all us old-timers felt just a tinge of alarm. We know that the great "House of Credit" (meaning the world) has been built on a bedrock of quick sand. By that I mean that the financing of the new world-prosperity has been built or financed by bureaucrats at the world's central banks -- rather than by the sweat and energy and brains of men.

And as gold breaks out to the upside, we old-timers mumble to ourselves, "Is this the beginning of the great unraveling? Is this the start of the destruction of the fiat paper system?" The safe answer is always "Probably not." The fantasy wealth system has been in place since 1971 when the US dollar went totally off gold. Two generations of Americans have grown up since then. Two generations have lived with, and never questioned, paper "money." So why should they start now?

Better still, why even bother with all the above questioning? We'll just keep watching to see if "reality time" has arrived. But how will we know when the so-called "reality time" has arrived? We'll know it when there's first a move, then a trot, then a run, and finally a panic to swap fiat paper for true wealth -- gold.

So we keep wondering, "How long can the fantasy system keep going. How long will people accept the intrinsically worthless creation of a central bank in return for their sweat and ideas and labor?

Ein guter Grund Gold und insbesondere Silber zu "kalmieren"!

NY gold slips off 8-mo. high, eyes on dlr, $66 oil
Fri Aug 12, 2005 09:56 AM ET
NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures opened at their highest level in eight months on Friday before backing down a bit, as dollar weakness and record crude prices attracted investors to alternatives like the precious metals.
A 6.1 percent rise in the U.S. trade deficit in June after COMEX gold opened prompted a flash of buying in gold as the dollar briefly eased, but a lack of follow-through and some long liquidation then pushed the metal futures lower.

Prices were gyrating as currency values fluctuated wildly over the last day and the trade data and $66 crude oil largely have been fueling the heavy turnover in the yellow metal.

"This is just profit-taking and a lack of bids," a desk trader at an international bank in New York said. "We went up really quickly and a little correction is necessary."

By 9:42 a.m. EDT, gold for December delivery (GCZ5: Quote, Profile, Research) on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $1.40 at $452.30 an ounce, patrolling a range of $449.10 to $455.30.

The day's high, hit during overnight NYMEX ACCESS electronic trading, was the priciest for futures on a spot continuation basis since December 2004, when the active contract neared $460.

The U.S. trade gap widened to $58.82 billion in June, from $55.43 billion previously, and above forecasts for a rise to $57.3 billion. Stronger oil prices that month boosted imports and a firm dollar hurt demand for U.S. exports.

As the dollar recovered on short covering, the euro last was down at $1.2417, below an earlier 2-1/2-month high at $1.2496. A firm dollar tends to weigh on gold because the U.S. currency-priced metal gets cheaper for non-U.S. buyers.

U.S. light crude surged to its highest on record at $66.16 a barrel on Friday amid robust global demand and declining U.S. gasoline stocks.

Gold often benefits from rising oil prices as the prospect of inflation prompts some investors use gold as a hedge.

"(Gold) traders will continue to monitor the funds with oil and the dollar continuing to lend direction," said analyst James Moore at TheBullionDesk.com.

Moore said that a test of last December's 16-year high in spot gold at $456.75 looked "quite likely" in the coming week, though the market technically was overbought and probably primed for some consolidation at this point.

After spot gold scaled an eight-month peak at $449.30 an ounce earlier, it edged to $443.60/444.40, compared with Thursday's New York late quote at $445.30/446.10. Friday's early fix in London was at $447.25.

In silver, COMEX September futures (SIU5: Quote, Profile, Research) tumbled 7.3 cents to $7.11 an ounce, pressured by profit taking in gold. The range ran from a one-week high at $7.255 to 7.065. Spot silver dipped to $7.08/11, from $7.15/18 Thursday.

In the NYMEX metals, October platinum (PLV5: Quote, Profile, Research) shed $2.70 to hold at $917 an ounce. Spot platinum brought $913/918 an ounce, off from a 15-month high at $923.

September palladium (PAU5: Quote, Profile, Research) was unchanged at $188.50 an ounce. Spot was worth $186/190.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Hab ich doch schon vor Tagen empfohlen - siehe unten ...

CoBra(too) (8/7/05; 15:29:50MT - usagold.com msg#: 134713)
Buy on Strike News -
As the old adage goes - Goldi -

In this case it may become more than true as Sa is still the # 1 gold producer ... though now closely followed by Nevada, as Ralph Roberts (USGS) has predicted some 40 years ago.

I can see some shorts having trouble to keep same clean as they might be cleaned out anyway.

Looks like the spooks haven't turned the curve and are still playing yesterdays game, chasing financial assets to Nirvana and never get the idea that hard assets may already be the game - for a long time to come - sez who?

Your humble cb2

Minen einigten sich bei ca. 7% Lohnsteigerungen ...

Na, warum net geich, wenn sie sich das noch leisten können!?!

Sturm im Wasserglas - oder doch mehr?

We'll see sez me - frr

Lies mal Matt Simmons "Twighlight in the Desert" und/oder hör dir Jim Puplavas Radio Interview vom Wochenende an (financialsense 2nd. hour) und sag dann Deine Meinung.

Meanwhile ...
http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.web?c=$WTIC,uu[h,a]dalanyay[df][pb50!f][vc60][iLi14,7!La12,26,9]&pref=G

Grüsse

Wir werden sehen!

SA gold strike nears end
David McKay
Posted: Wed, 10 Aug 2005
[miningmx.com] -- THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is to recommend the latest wage offer from the Chamber of Mines of SA (CoM) to its members fuelling hopes that the gold industry's first wage related general strike in 18 years could end after only three days.

“Yes, unions will recommend our offer to members. We’re quite optimistic,” said Frans Barker, chief negotiator for the CoM. “Beyond that, we’ve agreed with unions not to release further details,” Barker said.

He confirmed, however, that an offer of 6% to 7% had been accepted by union leaders.

Brenton Saunders, investor relations executive for Harmony Gold, said the offer was inclusive of other benefits demanded by unions, including an increased contribution by employers to pensions, and higher living out allowances to miners living outside the mine compound.
We expect a reply between 1pm to 2pm tomorrowIt appears as if negotiations between unions and mine owners are being handled by the CoM again after AngloGold Ashanti and South Deep (representing Western Areas and Placer Dome SA) broke ranks with the chamber on Sunday.

AngloGold Ashanti offered between 5.25% and 6.5%, but according to reports, this offer was rejected by unions.

"The process was disaggregated and then reaggregated at the very last moment," said Saunders. "After Sunday, the process ran amock with a number of different meetings in a number of different rooms," he said. It's thought that Harmony helped drive the process into a single room again.

Alan Fine, spokesman for AngloGold Ashanti, confirmed that NUM had given its undertaking to recommend the offer to its members.

"We expect a reply between 1pm to 2pm tomorrow (August 11). If the reply is positive we would have lost about three days of production," Fine said.

NUM's 80,000 members embarked on their strike 6pm Sunday evening (August 7), but including a public holiday in South Africa on Tuesday, and assuming workers return to work on Friday, the effect of the strike would be minimal.

Solidarity spokesperson Dirk Hermann said the trade union was optimistic an agreement would be reached: “We will put the new offer before our members and ask them for a new mandate,” he said.

“It is now important for all parties to work together actively to seek solutions so that a final settlement may be reached as soon as possible,” he said.

"It's promising but there's still a number of deal breakers in the pipeline so we have to be careful there," said Saunders.

Higher grade mining news. Straight to the point. Straight to your mailbox. Subscribe now for miningmx's free news alerts.

In den letzten Monaten kam es vermehrt zu Streiks in allen möglichen Sektoren, auch im öffentlichen Dienst, in SA. Der Minenarbeiter Ausstand hat indessen rd. 110.000 Personen erfasst und ist somit der grösste Streik seit 18 Jahren. Rund 40.000 Produktionsunzen gehen täglich verloren und dies allein sollte zu einem Anstieg des POG führen sollte sich die Situation nicht entspannen.
... Oder ist dies ein Auftakt für grössere Unruhen in SA? Immerhin hat sich in den 10 Jahren nach Apartheid die Situation der schwarzen Bevölkerung eher noch verschlimmert. Ein Abgleiten in Anarchie, a la Zimbabwe liegt durchaus im Bereich des Möglichen. Sollte dies eintreten ist mit einem "Short Squeeze" am Goldmarkt zu rechnen.

Immerhin hat sich der Goldpreis vom Juni 1987 (Streikbeginn) von rund 440 auf über 500 per Jahresende bewegt. Erwarten wir dies nicht auch ohne Streik in SA?

"Stalemate persists in gold strike
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unions and producers met yesterday to try to end the biggest strike by South African gold miners in 18 years, but no end to the stalemate was in sight, negotiators on both sides said yesterday.

The Solidarity trade union, traditional representative of white workers, has joined the strike led by the black National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) -- keeping some 110 000 workers away and bringing mines to a standstill in the top bullion producer.

"It doesn't seem as if we're making progress, the parties seem to be very far apart," Frans Barker, chief negotiator for the Chamber of Mines that represents gold producers, told the domestic news agency SAPA.

Barker told Reuters separately: "There have been offers placed on the table by gold companies. Unions say they are ready to look at some (parts of the offers) while they say others are unacceptable. It is all very mixed at the moment."

NUM General Secretary Gwede Mantashe confirmed that his union had met some producers.

"We are still engaged," he said. "I am unable to give you any specifics at this point."

The strike is the latest and biggest of a series of industrial actions in recent weeks in South Africa, which is plagued by huge income gaps between the rich and mostly black poor more than a decade after the end of white minority rule.

The NUM launched the strike on Sunday and the Chamber's Barker said it had brought mines to a standstill.

Barker said the strike paralysed the South African mines of the world's No. 2 gold producer AngloGold Ashanti, fourth-ranked Gold Fields, sixth-placed Harmony Gold and South Deep.

The Chamber, which negotiates wages on behalf of gold producers, estimated a daily loss of around 40 000 oz of gold production and R130-million in combined lost revenue per day due to the strike.

The two unions called the strike after rejecting the latest offer by the Chamber of Mines of a 4.5 to 5.0 percent wage rise plus bonus payments.

Unions are demanding a rise of between 10% and 12%.

In talks on Sunday, AngloGold and South Deep, a joint venture of South Africa's Western Areas and Canada's Placer Dome, offered wage rises of between 5,25% and 6,5%.

On Tuesday AngloGold and South Deep added an increase of 10-16 percent in housing subsidies, Barker said.

Gold Fields and Harmony have put on the table offers of 5%-6% percent in wage increases and a rise of 10% in housing subsidies, Barker said.

The NUM says its point of reference in talks is a wage increases of 7%-8%, a one per cent raise in the miners' risk cover and higher accommodation allowances.

Miners, some of whom descend more than 3 km (nearly 2 miles) underground to drill ore in sweltering, narrow tunnels, typically earn R2 500-R3 000 per month.

Muneer Ismail, an analyst at Deutsche Securities, said on Monday a public holiday in South Africa yesterday would reduce the strike's impact as mines would not be running at full capacity and some would in any case be shut.

A third 15 000-strong union, the United Association of South Africa (Uasa), mostly made up of supervisory staff, said it would consider the offers from AngloGold and South Deep.

Tim Kruger, Uasa's spokesman, told Reuters on Monday his union would decide on Friday whether it would join the strike or not. Uasa had no immediate comment yesterday.

South Africa accounts for around 15% of global gold output. Statistics South Africa said on Monday the mining sector contributed 6,6% to the country's gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2005.

South African gold stocks index fell 2% on Monday. Markets were closed on Tuesday.

The failed miners' wage talks are symptomatic of wider discontent in South Africa, recently hit by a wave of work stoppages by municipal, supermarket and national airline staff".

Denkanstoss - Bill Bonner at his BEST!

"When we began The Daily Reckoning, six years ago, the United States was in the throes of a stock market mania. "This can't continue," we said. But it had already continued for longer than we thought it would. We still looked for the end of it, but after a while we got tired of craning our necks.

Now, the nation is caught up in an even bigger mania. It is not just investors who have taken leave of their senses...it is ordinary people with little sense to take leave of in the first place.

That is why we can set aside our old thoughts for a day or two...but we still need them.

What needs to happen still hasn't happened. Until it does, we cling to our old thoughts like a bottle of vintage Bordeaux. We will drink it down and get rid of it; we're just waiting for the right occasion.

Most people celebrate America's property boom...it's growing economy...its high priced stocks. We would too, if they weren't all mountebanks, frauds and ponzi schemes.

A bear market in stocks began in January of 2000. Prices fell until the autumn of 2002. Since then, the Dow has rallied - led by the builders, who have been having a field day.

The dollar, meanwhile, hit a high almost four years ago. Then, it fell until December of 2004. Since then, it too has rallied.

The dollar is often thought of as the "stock" of the U.S.A. It goes up as perceptions of America's economic health and financial stability improve. Of course, it's never quite that simple. The dollar also goes and down based on how many dollars people overseas need for commercial, banking and investment purposes. But when Europe turned in a series of "no" votes on its new constitution, many people saw the dollar as a reliable old friend. Many American economists flattered themselves; their own Alan Greenspan managed the greenback so well that it was now in demand all over the world, and always would be. Europe was a nice place to visit, they said, but you can't develop a stable currency out of such a hodge podge of countries, languages, cultures and economies.

Yet, Europe has a positive trade balance with the rest of the world. It pays its bills. It earns enough every day to pay the day's expenses...and then some.

Not so, for the United States. It falls short - at a rate of about 6% annually. If the shortfall continues, an awkward and embarrassing situation will result. America will eventually owe the rest of the world more than the value of everything in America. The foreigners will come in and repossess cars...sofas...and shopping malls. They will take over U.S. companies - as China tried to do recently. Congress put the kibosh on the Unocal deal, but there must be thousands of other deals waiting to be done. What else can Americans expect? Foreigners already hold a quantity of U.S. assets almost equal to the GDP. Most of those assets are in the form of Treasury bonds. At some point, the foreigners are bound to want something more tangible...something inherently more valuable.

And so, the dollar is vulnerable. There are many, many dollars in many, many different hands. Many of those hands are going to want to clutch something else, sooner or later.

We expected the greenback to fall quickly after the bad news from Europe had hit the euro. It took longer than we thought, but the dollar is now falling...and the euro is back to where it was when the French said "non." ***

- Non"! ? - To what? ... Gibt's noch was zu holen in den USA, das nicht bereits den "Kuckuck" 'picken' hat? Wos was a Fremder oder wie der Lateiner sogt: Quid quid peregrinus ... Kennst Di aus, od'r, Oida!?!

Na, jo - gemma - na net Tauben schiass'n im Park - oba ebba a paar mehr Goid und Süba Münzen fur des Papierweri ei'tauscha!

Got Gold?

Doin' well - was away in the Styrian mountains to see friends for a short week.

XCL - is also doin' well - even if the share price is still Shiite, but will come back with the Sunni side up, I'd wager comparing it with it with NWS, who seem to be chasing off to greener pastures... after sinking 20 Mill. bucks into the JV, financed at a buck!

The big boyz - Larry Kornze and Ken Snyder - are happy with results so far and still see the elephant potential unscathed. Guess you may look forward to good news expanding the resource healthily in due course.

OK - Battle Mountain - bleibt das # 1 Explorationsgebiet der USA. XCL bleibt einer der letzten Elefanten im Elefantenland!

CGR - wird früher denn später wieder im Spiel sein - PDG, wie ich anmerkte kann sich dies nicht entgehen lassen. Problem, CGR hat auf 6.000 acres ein JV mit PDG, dass CGR 39% Beteiligung, ohne weitere Zahlung bis Produktion garantiert!

GRG - scheint hier auch Fuss zu fassen ...

Too many potential plays - so just stay put with your old choices until u can rejoice - best

http://www.elkodaily.com/artic…/09/15/mining/mining1.prt

Guter Artikel im ELKO Daily - Placer ist zweifellos der Platzhirsch, doch sind auch einige Juniors in dieser Gegend interessant. Habe vor kurzem mit Bob Hays, PDGs senior vp exploration Cortez JV, und kam zu dem Schluss, dass sie auf einige angrenzende Ländereien mittelfristig kaum verzichten werden können.

CGR - ist nur einer davon, wenn auch der schlüssigste, da sie 1995 bereits nahe an einem deal waren.

Grüsse

Denke neue Explorations Ergebnisse werden in den nächsten 2 Wochen erwartet.
Ah, AQI hat etwas leiser getreten - oder wurde getreten - diesmal von den Argentinischen Behörden re- Calcatreu. Müssen eine 1.200 Seiten Umwelt-Verträglichkeits et al Studie beantworten. Good Luck - AQI...

Nicht bös gemeint, jedoch spielt eine gewisse Schadenfreude mit, wenn man aus der (persönlichen) Geschichte des CEO's nicht lernen will ... findet ...

Seit beinahe 15 Jahren verfolge ich die Geschicke Ghanas - eigentlich war die (Wieder?-) Emission von Ashanti für mein Interesse an diesem antiken Goldland (Gold Coast unter den Briten) verantwortlich.

Seitdem ist viel geschehen und die bedeutenden Gold Trends des Landes wurden nach langer Abstinenz moderner Bergbau und Explorations-Technologie erneut unter die Lupe genommen. Neue Vorkommen wurden erschlossen und eine Reihe von Explorationsgesellschaften tummelten sich bis Mitte der 90-er Jahre in diesem politisch und legistisch relativ stabilen Land. Die meisten sind über die dürren Goldjahre im Gefolge von Bre-X und dem massiv angekündigten Goldverkäufen wesentlicher Zentralbanken - vor allem anglo-sächsischer Provinienz - wieder gegangen (worden?).

Auch eine Gruppe in der ich relativ stark beteiligt war. Doch wie das Leben so spielt haben alte Freunde diese Konzessionen übernommen und sie entlang dem Asakrankwa Belt (parallel zum Ashanti Trend) noch ausgeweitet. Letzte IP's bestätigen, dass die von SRK (einer international anerkannten Mining Consultant Ges.) 17 grosse Bohr Targets auswiesen, die nun auf ihre Probebohrungen warten. Jede dieser Target Zonen, besonders die um die Diaso Konzession haben weltklasse Potential. Weiters sind die Strukturen den von Ashanti zu ähnlich um vernachlässigt zu werden.

Die company ist PMI Ventures (auch an deutschen Börsen notiert) und handelt nahe am Tief. Ihr potentieller Erfolg hängt auch von weiterer Finanzierung ihrer Aktivitäten ab, doch sollte dies in freundlicheren Märkten keine allzu grosse Hürde darstellen. Immerhin trägt das Gebiet den Namen Ashanti II!

Die beinahe 'virtuelle' Aufwertung des Yuan vis a vis des US Dollar scheint Washington und Wall Street zu beschwichtigen; Vorerst, da man glaubt, dass dies ein erster Schritt sei! ... Weitere werden folgen - Oder?!

Es scheint mir das Spiel für NWO hat nunmehr ein neues Level erreicht - und um dies zu dokumentieren lest bitte Peter Shiffs Analyse:

http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/schiff072105.html

... Die ich für sehr profund halte.

Immerhin hat sich die Main Stream Press eher zurückgehalten die Chinesen zu interpretieren - und wenn schon ist die Meinung - it's a beginning.

A beginning - YES - to assure the demise of the Dollar and its seignorage ... would be my interpretation ... though who am I in the global scope of treachery?

Take care - invest wisely - don't gamble and go gold .... best

Gut gesprochen Tschonko "der elder statesman!"

Grüsse