Tag: diamond

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12 Months of Mining Recap

A lot has happened in 2022 so we’ve compiled some of this year’s biggest mining news:

January

Rio Tinto expects the introduction of battery-electric powered trains in the Pilbara will help them halve their emissions by 2030.

They hope the trial will pave the way for its entire fleet of 220 diesel locomotives to go electric.

Fortescue Metals Group also plans to replace diesel-powered vehicles by 2030 in their plan to decarbonise.

Then FMG chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said to achieve carbon neutrality: “we will have to replace our mining fleet, our rail fleet, shipping, all of those areas that are mobile that rely on the use of diesel.”

Rio Tinto

 

February

Lynas has received approval from WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby to build $500m rare earths refinery at Kalgoorlie.

The plant is scheduled to begin production next year and is expected to create over 120 jobs.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor John Bowler said he hopes the plant will operate for decades: “This is the next big metal, something totally different from gold and nickel … it’s a big occasion and great day for Kalgoorlie-Boulder.”

 

May

Ron Sayers, West Australian mining tycoon who founded the Perenti Group, has died after his battle with stomach cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Sayers began as a fitter on Kalgoorlie’s Golden Mile before founding his company Ausdrill in 1987.

Today the ASX200 listed company employs more than 8,000 employees across 12 countries.

 

Construction has begun on a 580km pipeline in WA that will take gas from the Perth basin to the Goldfields.

The $460m pipeline will form part of the Northern Goldfields Interconnect pipeline, aimed to significantly increase the volume of gas available inland.

 

June

The United States Department of Defence has awarded Lynas Rare Earths a $120USD contract to build a processing facility on the Gulf Coast in Texas.

The production of the facility aims to reduce the US’ reliance on China for rare earth minerals.

Lynas managing director Amanda Lacaze says the deal demonstrates the priority that the US is placing on “ensuring that supply chains for these critical materials are resilient and environmentally responsible”.

 

July

Australian mining company Lucapa has unearthed a rare 170-carat pink diamond, one of the biggest pink diamonds ever found.

“The Lulo Rose” is believed to be the largest found in 300 years.

Lucapa Diamond

 

October

Two people have died in 72 hours in separate mining incidents in WA.

The first died after a rock fall at the Hamlet underground mine at Saint Ives near Kambalda.

The second died at the Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda gold mine near Newman when his vehicle was run over by a large dump truck.

 

November

A $750m community investment trust funded by WA’s big fish in mining has been set up by the state government to help fund infrastructure in remote communities and legacy projects.

The government hopes to eventually have $1b in the fund, so far Rio Tinto and BHP have contributed $250m each, Hancock Prospecting has contributed $100m, Woodside $50m, Chevron $50m and Mineral Resources has contributed $50m.

Projects to be funded include an Aboriginal Cultural Centre for Perth’s CBD, the refurbishment of the Perth Concert Hall and upgrades to the Perth Zoo as well as several projects in remote WA.

 

Swedish company, Epiroc, has agreed to acquire Kalgoorlie Boulder company, Remote Control Technologies Pty Ltd.

RCT was founded 50 years ago and provides automation solutions to mining companies.

RCT is the second Kalgoorlie Boulder company acquired by Epiroc this year, after their acquisition of JTMEC earlier in the year.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

RCT

 

December

St Barbara and Genesis Minerals have announced their merger to create Hoover House,

St Barbara will acquire 100% of the shares in Genesis. Genesis shareholders will own 41% of Hoover House, with St Barbara shareholders owning 38%.

Hoover House will have a production target of over 300,000oz of gold per annum.

St Barbara chair, Tim Netscher, said: “The merger with our Leonora neighbour, Genesis, to create Hoover House, will accelerate our Leonora Province Plan. Shareholders will reap the benefits of more production at lower cost and lower risk from this prolific mining district.”

Genesis Managing Director, Raleigh Finlayson, said: “By combining with St Barbara, we are creating Hoover House, the premium Australian gold company we envisaged, with sustainable, high-quality production.”

St Barbara

 

Elizabeth Gains is stepping down as CEO of Fortescue to become their ambassador for their global green hydrogen brand. Gains will remain a non-executive director.

Gains will be responsible for promoting green hydrogen, green ammonia and green energy.

Since Gains began leading the company in 2018, Fortescue’s share price has quadrupled, and shareholders have grown from less than 35,000 to 170,000.

“ I don’t see this as a departure of any shape or form. I think it’s just the opportune time for Fortescue who are genuinely transitioning,” Ms Gaines said.

 

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What you missed in the news this week

St Barbara and Genesis Minerals have announced their merger to create Hoover House,

St Barbara will acquire 100% of the shares in Genesis. Genesis shareholders will own 41% of Hoover House, with St Barbara shareholders owning 38%.

Hoover House will have a production target of over 300,000oz of gold per annum.

St Barbara chair, Tim Netscher, said: “The merger with our Leonora neighbour, Genesis, to create Hoover House, will accelerate our Leonora Province Plan. Shareholders will reap the benefits of more production at lower cost and lower risk from this prolific mining district.”

Genesis Managing Director, Raleigh Finlayson, said: “By combining with St Barbara, we are creating Hoover House, the premium Australian gold company we envisaged, with sustainable, high-quality production.”

St Barbara

 

The federal government has announced a cap on gas and coal prices as part of its Energy Price Relief Plan.

The plan includes the 12-month emergency gas price cap, a targeted energy bill relief for households and businesses, and investment in cleaner, cheaper and reliable energy.

Anthony Albanese said the action is designed to “provide all Australians with a buffer in unprecedented times.”

 

A South African researcher has developed a new way to remove contaminates from water used in mining.

The process involves small polystyrene beads that chemically bond with pollutants as the water passes through, cleaning the water and collecting the pollutants for reuse.

Ed Hardwick, owner of Cwenga Technologies said the beads extract valuable materials from the water: “What has been identified in some streams, especially coal mining streams, is that the acid that’s produced from the mine waters actually dissolves out some rare earth materials.”

 

Aruma Resources has announced its recently completed diamond core drilling program at their Salmon gums Gold Project has expanded the project’s Greenstone footprint to over 75km2.

The drilling, located at their Norseman Gold Camp was designed to provide a deeper geological understanding of the project and opened up the potential for the project to host multiple horizons.

 

Kin Mining has completed their first deep diamond drill-hole at Helens-Rangoon Fault – which saw wide zones of shallow gold – to test an Induced Polarisation anomaly.

The drilling was completed at their Cardinia Gold Project near Leonora and has intersected significant zones of gold mineralisation.

Kin Mining Managing Director, Andrew Munckton, said: “This represents a strong start to the 5‐hole diamond drill program, which is designed to test the first generation of deeper targets at Cardinia with the aim of uncovering new, high‐grade discoveries within the exciting Eastern Corridor.”

Shire of Leonora

 

S&P/ASX 200 markets started out the week a little lower, at 7,163 points before climbing to 7,253 points at the end of Wednesday. The markets saw a sudden drop Friday morning, falling from 7,209 points to 7,122 points before making a slight comeback to finish the week.

The All Ordinaries followed a similar trajectory, falling 91 points to 7,304 points Friday morning, before climbing again throughout the day.

 

Gold peaked at a 3-month high of $1,813.70USD on Wednesday, before dropping again to $1,787.85USD to round out the week.

Silver saw a 6-month high of $24USD on Wednesday before a slight decline to $23.35USD to end the week.

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What You Missed in the New this Week

Surbiton Associates has announced Australian gold production for the September 22 quarter is down 9% from the June 22 quarter.

The September quarter saw 76 tonnes compared to the 83 tonnes from the June quarter.

Surbiton Associates director, Dr Sandra Close said gold production for the quarter is somewhat disappointing and stated “some wet weather and Covid-19 problems affected output adversely” but is confident these effects are slowly receding.

Gold Fields has awarded their Barren Lands open pit project to establish a new mine at their Agnew Gold Mine, 150km Northwest of Leonora to MLG Oz.

The project will run alongside their current St Ives cooperation.

MLG founder and managing director Murray Leahy said “we are very proud to continue to support Gold Fields at their St Ives and Agnew operations extending what has, and continues to be, a long and rewarding relationship.”

Metal Hawk Limited has announced diamond drilling at their Berehaven Nickel Project has commenced.

The project, located 20km Southeast of Kalgoorlie Boulder, continued after high grade nickel sulphide was discovered in the area last year.

Minerals Resources is offering starting salaries of over $140,000 to New Zealanders in an entice them to Perth. The campaign is set to see several hundred New Zealanders over the next 6 months.

 

 

The S&P/ASX200 stumbled slightly on Monday before recovering to start the month on a high of 7,372 points yesterday. The markets finished off the week on 7,302 points, dropping 0.72% from yesterday.

The All Ordinaries peaked at 7,572 points yesterday, finishing at 7,504 points today.

 

 

Gold was relatively stable at the start of the week, before picking up on Wednesday to finish the week at the biggest high since August at $1,802.25USD/oz.

Silver followed suit, starting stable before reaching the biggest high since June at $233.04USD/oz.

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What You Missed This Week in the News

BHP has offered Oz Minerals a takeover offer of $28.25/share, including $9.6B, three months after their initial unsolicited offer.

BHP offered a$25/share, $8.4m takeover offer in August, which Oz Minerals rejected, saying it failed to properly value the company’s portfolio.

The offer comes after the two renewed talks on Thursday, and Oz Minerals board have accepted the offer, OZ Minerals Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cole said: “BHP’s Revised Proposal is a clear reflection of OZ Minerals’ unique set of highly strategic, quality assets in quality jurisdictions. We look forward to working with BHP in a collaborative way to progress the Revised Proposal in the best interests of OZ Minerals’ and its stakeholders.”

 

MetalsGrove Mining has announced that drilling contractor Topdrill has mobilised its drill rig in preparation to commence the inaugural drilling at their Upper Coondina Lithium Project.

The project is located 100km south of Marble Bar, near Port Hedland.

 

Town of Port Hedland

BHP, Curtin University and Greening Australia have partnered to trial vegetation barriers to improve air quality and capture dust in the West End scheme in Port Hedland as part of BHP’s Pilbara Air Quality Program.

Phase 1 which involved planting 80,000 seedlings, has been completed and another 80,000 is scheduled to be planted in the next few months.

 

The ”What’s Down the Track” Forum was held in Kalgoorlie Boulder on Thursday. The event, run by the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce, provides a 12-month forecast into the drivers that support the growth and opportunities that exist within the region.

The event included speakers and exhibitions from BHP, Kai Rho Contracting, Deep Yellow Limited, St Ives, Northern Star, Lynas Rare Earths, Evolution Mining and Epiroc.

 

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce

The S&P/ASX200 markets stumbled at the beginning of the week, starting off on the month’s high of 7,196 points before falling to 7,106 points on Wednesday. The markets made a comeback to finish the week at 7,152 points. Oz Minerals was the top performing stock, up 3.92% after their takeover offer from BHP.

The All Ordinaries us up too, finishing the week on 7,355 points.

 

Gold is trading at $1,765.52USD after a stable week, and silver at $21.35USD, after peaking early on Tuesday at $22.28USD.

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Top Story – Bill Beament Leaves Northern Star In July.

Northern Star Resources Limited has provided an update. In their efforts to initiate a global search for an Independent NonExecutive Chair, Bill Beament will retire from the Northern Star Board, effective July 1, 2021. Mr Beament has agreed to take up an Executive Director role with Venturex Resources from July 1. Mr Beament said he fully appreciated the opportunity to help Northern Star generate exceptional results for all stakeholders. “I share the view that now is the right time for Northern Star to begin the search for an Independent Chair,” he said. “The Company is in an extremely strong position, with an outstanding team and some of the best gold assets in the world.”

Northern Star Non-Executive Director John Fitzgerald thanked Mr Beament for his outstanding contribution. “Bill has guided Northern Star through a period of exceptional growth, building a globally-significant gold company which generates substantial returns for Shareholders,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

The Northern Star Board has decided that Independent Non-Executive Director John Fitzgerald will perform the role of Independent Non-Executive Chair from then until the appointment of the new Chair.

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Diggers & Dealers Keynote Speaker Announced for 2021

 

A former advisor to President Nelson Mandela, a key author of twenty one books and a previous Principal Economist at the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) has been announced as the Diggers and Dealers key note speaker for 2021. Professor Ian Goldin.

Professor Goldin specialises in economics and has numerous credentials on the world economic stage. After a start in Africa, Professor Goldin lectures at Oxford, Harvard and Tsinghua Universities as well as providing advisory and consultancy services to thirty leading companies. His recent speaking engagements include the opening keynote at Google Zeitgeist, the Microsoft CEO Forum and TED. For the past twenty one years he has provided keynotes at the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos. Adding to an impressive list of achievements, Professor Goldin also was a previous Vice President of the World Bank. His address at Diggers and Dealers this year is sure to be thought provoking and insightful.

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BREAKING: KCGM Owners Make Joint Announcement

KCGM Super Pit Owners Northern Star Resources and Saracen Minerals have released information to the market this morning about their respective operations based on the lockdown imposed in Western Australia.
Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited and Northern Star Resources advises that it does not expect production and exploration at its West Australian operations to be impacted by the five-day lockdown measures announced yesterday by WA Premier Mark McGowan. All the Company’s operations are located outside the lockdown boundaries set by the Government. The Company will advise the market should these circumstances change. Saracen’s top priority at all times is the health and safety of its staff, business partners and the communities in which we operate and this is the basis of all its strategies for managing COVID-19.
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Morning News Bites – November 6

Gold and the US Election.

It would seem the gold market has factored in a win to Biden in the US elections with the price of gold rising by about US$40 in overnight trade (Australian time).  The Aussie dollar has risen against the greenback to ~US72.6c, which gives an Aussie gold price of ~$2,680.

As I type this Trump is giving a media briefing at the White House where he is claiming that the election has been rigged.  He claims it has been stolen from him by fraud.  This would seem to flag that more court challengers are on their way if, as expected on current count, Biden wins the required 270 Electoral College votes.

The Dow Jones Index also had a good day and rose 542 points indicating that it is not only the gold market looking upon the expected result favourably.  Given that Trump is sure to litigate in his quest to maintain office it will be interesting to see how all markets react to it over the coming weeks

Venture Reports on Results from Golden Grove North.

Venture Minerals (ASX: VMS) has released results from the first drill hole at Orcus which has intersected 33 metres of disseminated to semi-massive sulphides with Copper and Zinc at the Company’s highest priority VMS Drill Target at Golden Grove North. The sulphide intersection sits predominately within a chlorite-sericite altered sequence of foliated mafic volcanic which is a potential host for VMS style mineralisation.

Venture’s Managing Director commented “The first drill hole at Orcus has had immediate success with a strong intersection of sulphides containing Copper and Zinc. Venture eagerly awaits the assays to confirm the highly likely addition of both gold and potential silver mineralisation as it moves onto the next drill holes at Orcus, the Company’s highest priority VMS target at Golden Grove North.”

Venture has completed a visual inspection and preliminary hand-held XRF analyses on the RC chips and has verified the presence of copper and zinc within the pyrite dominated sulphides. Samples are being prepared for submitting to a laboratory for assay to confirm the observed mineralisation. X

The company claims the Orcus prospect already boasts a VMS style drill intersection of 22m @ 0.76 g/t Gold, 0.64% Copper & 1.3% Zinc from 38m to bottom of hole, including 10m @ 1.0g/t Gold, 0.74% Copper & 2.1% Zinc from 50m to bottom of hole, that sits on trend between the two recently delineated high priority VMS drill targets of Vulcan North and Vulcan West.

VRX Silica gets Aboriginal Heritage Nod.

VRX Silica (ASX: VRX) has announced the results of an Aboriginal heritage survey at its Arrowsmith North Silica Sand Project (Arrowsmith North) and Arrowsmith Central Silica Sand Project (Arrowsmith Central), located approximately 270km north of Perth, Western Australia.

The comprehensive archaeological and ethnographic survey was conducted last month with Amangu representatives of the Yamatji Nation and Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) personnel over proposed initial mining and critical infrastructure areas.

Preliminary advice received by the Company from YMAC confirms that the Arrowsmith North Access Road, Services Corridor and Production Area are clear for the stated works to proceed for 10 years of production. The Arrowsmith Central Production Area and Arrowsmith Central Infrastructure Areas are cleared for 5 years of production.

VRX’s Managing Director Bruce Maluish said: “With the grant of Mining Leases for Arrowsmith North and Arrowsmith Central expected imminently, obtaining Aboriginal heritage clearance for our proposed works on both projects is an important step forward for their development.

“This continues our strong and supportive relationship and consultative approach with the local Yamatji Nation people and YMAC. We appreciate their efforts in progressing the conduct of the survey and report.”

Eagle Mountain Reports High-Grade Assays.

Eagle Mountain Mining (ASX: EM2) confirmed high grade assays from initial drilling at the Company’s 80% owned Oracle Ridge Mine Project in Arizona, USA.

Eagle Mountain’s intends to build a low-cost mining operation, which involves increasing the resource base both within the current mine area and in the near-mine vicinity. A surface diamond drilling program commenced at Oracle Ridge in early September 2020, designed primarily to target extensions of the high-grade portions of the existing NI43-101 Minerals Resources Estimate.

Assays results from holes WT-20-03 (upper part only) and WT-20-04 (selected zones) have been received and are reported as:  4.56m at 5.28% Cu, 50.7 g/t Ag and 0.77g/t Au from 184m, including 0.93m at 13.05% Cu, 127g/t Ag and 0.32g/t Au

Higher priority sections from four further drill holes have been submitted to the laboratory with assay results from three holes due in November 2020

Eagle Mountain Mining CEO, Tim Mason, commented: “This is an excellent start to our drill program at Oracle Ridge, which targeted zones outside the existing Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). The intercept of 4.56m at 5.28% Cu, 50.7 g/t Ag and 0.77g/t Au, including 0.93m at 13.05% copper and 127g/t silver is outstanding. The mineralisation in this zone is unconstrained for approximately 100m to the east, with follow up drilling planned to test extensions in this area.

Our goal is to build on the significant high-grade copper MRE, to support a potential future mining operation, with these assay results reinforcing our view that there is significant mineralisation outside the existing MRE at the Project. The drilling program has been extended to the end of CY2020, and we look forward to updating the market with further results over the coming months.”

Lucapa Raise $10 Million to Expand Processing Capacity.

Lucapa Diamond (ASX: LOM) has received firm commitments from professional and sophisticated investors to subscribe for 181,818,182 fully paid new ordinary shares in the Company at an issue price of $0.055 per share to raise $10 million before costs. The Placement involved the issue of 54,824,075 free attaching unlisted $0.08 options, expiring 2 years from the date of issue.

The oversubscribed capital raising, was cornerstoned by Ilwella Pty Ltd, a diversified investment vehicle of the Flannery family office and by Safdico International, a leading multinational diamond company and subsidiary of Graff International. The Company also welcomed new institutional investors to the register.

Lucapa intends to use the funds from the Placement to commission an expansion in the processing capacity of the Mothae kimberlite mine from 1.1Mtpa to 1.6Mtpa (+45%). This should materially increase production, revenues and due to economies of scale, improve unit operating costs and deliver improvements to earnings. The investment in Mothae is expected to cost $8.5 million, with the balance of the funds raised, net of costs, to be utilised for general working capital purposes.

Managing director Stephen Wetherall commented; “We are extremely pleased with the strong support shown by strategic and institutional investors in the value accretive expansion plan formulated by Lucapa and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, our Mothae partner”.

“The Mothae expansion should see a material increase in the benefits derived by the Basotho nation and to our shareholders”.

 

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Morning News Bites – November 5

Wiluna Mining Increase Mineral Resource.

Wiluna Mining Corporation (ASX: WMX)has reported an increase to the Mineral Resource for the Wiluna Mining Centre, as part of the Company’s ongoing Sulphide Development plan.

Wiluna reported a 4.24Moz @ 4.89 g/t High Grafe Mineral Resource at the Wiluna Mining Centre, which is 11% more than reported in September, and 8.04Moz @ 1.63 g/t total mineral resource for the company.

Mining studies will be conducted to assess various mining options ranging from selective high-grade underground mining to bulk open pit and underground mining, or a combination of methods.

Wiluna Mining Executive Chair, Milan Jerkovic, commented:  “Our ongoing $30 million drilling campaign has focused on high-grade areas with the potential to be mined at the start of our Sulphide Development schedule. Drilling has successfully added tonnes, improved the grade and improved the portion within Measured and Indicated confidence categories. We are delighted by these results because they build upon our strategy to enhance the very large, high-grade Wiluna Mineral Resource. Drilling has been supported by our team’s diligent efforts to extract maximum value from the large amount of existing historical drilling and mining data, including assaying of intervals of mineralisation from the historical core library which comprises over 800km of core. These efforts have contributed to the impressive growth in our Mineral Resource base.

Investigator’s Paris Silver Project Yields High Grades.

Investigator Resources (ASX: IVR) announced that the Paris Silver Project is the highest-grade undeveloped primary silver project in Australia. With a JORC 2012 resource of 9.3 Mt @ 139g/t Ag and 0.6% Pb for 42 Moz contained silver and 55 kt contained lead, Paris is a shallow, high-grade silver deposit amenable to open pit mining.

Investigator’s Managing Director, Andrew McIlwain said: “We believe these initial and preliminary results support our objective with this infill campaign of improving both the grade and confidence in the estimated resource.

“Drilling started on Line 8, at the northern edge of the “200m Zone” Indicated Resource block, and results from the 9 holes drilled in Lines 8 and 8.25, are expected to extend the Indicated Resource to the north. With some eyewatering grades seen in these early results, it bodes well for an increase in the average resource grade in this area”.

“These initial and incomplete results from only 9 holes, of a program total of 276, along with the geological logging of the drilling to date, augurs well for the success of this program. This has provided the confidence for the Board to approve an additional 5,500m of drilling to further improve the Paris resource.

“We will have assays coming through on a regular basis over the next few months and look forward to providing further updates on results”.

AusQuest Completes Initial Reconnaissance Results

AusQuest Limited (ASX: AQD) advised the market that the initial reconnaissance drilling program has been completed at the Gunanya Project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia under its Strategic Alliance Agreement with South32.

A total of seven Reverse Circulation drill holes (totalling 1,916m) spaced 200m apart across each anomaly were completed to test three magnetic targets in order to determine their potential to host gold and copper mineralisation similar to that found at Winu (by Rio Tinto) and Havieron (by Newcrest), located in the northern half of the Paterson Province.

Drill samples were collected at two metre intervals from each drill-hole and sent to Perth for analysis. Assay results are expected within three to four weeks, at which time an assessment of the drilling results will be undertaken.

AusQuest Managing Director Graeme Drew said the Company was pleased to have successfully completed initial reconnaissance drilling of the Gunanya targets even though not all the magnetic targets had been properly tested.

“We have seen signs of alteration and sulphide mineralisation, albeit pyrite, in both the basement lithologies and the overlying sediments,” he said. “but assays are required before any proper assessment of the drilling results can be made.”

“Final assay data should be available over the next 3-4 weeks and we look forward to reporting on the final results once we have had time to analyse the data” he continued.

Yandal Resource Estimate for Flushing Meadows.

Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX: YRL) released an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Flushing Meadows gold deposit, part of its 100% owned Ironstone Well gold project near Wiluna in the Yandal Greenstone Belt of Western Australia.

The prospect is located 60km south- west of the mining town of Wiluna in close proximity to a number of gold development projects and operating mines.  The estimate contains a total 7.4Mt @ 1.13g/t Au for 268,000oz and utilised sample data from 420 RC drill holes and four diamond drill holes.

Yandal Resources’ Managing Director; Mr Lorry Hughes commented:

“Compared to the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate the new estimate has a 60% increase in tonnage and a 12% reduction in grade for an overall 40% increase in total contained ounces. Importantly the new estimate has a 109% increase in material reporting to the higher confidence Indicated Resource category and the bulk of the mineralisation is located above 100m vertical depth.

The mineralisation remains open at depth and there are high priority exploration targets along strike and in adjacent positions that are being drilled currently. The Company plans to aggressively pursue Resource growth over the next two years with a large proportion of the exploration budget directed within a 10km radius of Flushing Meadows including the Oblique and Quarter Moon prospects where significant historic mineralisation occurs.

The Company has a dual strategy to prepare our most advanced prospects ready for mining whilst pursuing exploration targets capable of hosting multi-million ounce gold deposits known to occur in areas close to our projects”.

US Election and Gold.

It would seem the price of gold is fluctuating slightly as the fortunes of both candidates change throughout the vote count.  Some analysts believe that a Biden win will be good for the gold price and conversely Trump winning would see downward pressure on the metal price.

At the moment, with Biden looking set to win the election we could see gold remain above the US$1,900 and move toward the $US$2,000 mark again.

Gold has remained fairly stable compared to the last US election when it became obvious that Trump would win and gold soared by about US$150 , but only briefly.

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This Afternoons Top Story – Is Age Just a Number In This US Election?

With the US elections in full swing it got me around to thinking about the age of both candidates and the obvious question for me was, are they both too old? I don’t intend to talk about their politics or policies and who would be better for the US and the world. As far as the US is concerned it is up to them for who they vote for and up to the rest of the world to deal with whoever they offer up. Also, I have no formal qualifications so what I express below comes from a personal view and nothing else.

The incumbent, Donald Trump, was born in 1946 and the person who is wanting to knock him out of office, Joe Biden, was born four years earlier in 1942. With age we are told comes experience, knowledge and wisdom. Also, with age comes health issues, which can detract from the performance of a person, and in some cases senility and other mental health issues can manifest.

With both candidates well into their 70s are they capable of dealing with this ever-changing world that, from my point of view, younger people are more adept at dealing with? Trump is renowned for his avid use of Twitter, a modern-day communication medium that young people love, but I don’t think he has grasped that Twitter rants at 3am are doing him more harm than good. Biden on the other hand seems to use social media discretely and probably leaves it up to one of his many media advisers to handle it all. As I have a dislike for social media, I score the eldest of the two more highly here.

Do these old candidates understand the world we live in and can they relate to the younger people and can the younger people relate to them? If there is no connection between these parties, or worse, animosity, then there is bound to be unrest for the next four years.

Both candidates have shown bouts of forgetfulness during the campaign. None more apparent than when Biden seemingly referred to Trump as George. Most pundits observed this as Biden referring to George W Bush who hasn’t been in the Whitehouse for 12 years. He later said he was mentioning some obscure person who works in the background, but it came over as a hollow excuse. Glory be to any politician who owns up to a mistake, which Biden should have done. They get far more respect from the hoi polloi than someone who tries on a lame excuse that everyone sees through.

I could go on about things that both candidates have done that question their suitability for the top job, but I will leave it at that. My opinion is that Americans are faced with a poor choice when they cast their vote that could determine where America fits in the political maelstrom that the world is faced with.

The argument for younger leaders can be best illustrated here at home where for the last 13 years our Prime Ministers have mostly been under the age of 60. I can hear you say we have had some duds, and I couldn’t agree more with you. Both sides have produced good and bad leaders in this time, but on the whole, we have been well served by energetic people that are capable of meeting the rigours of high office.

Prime Minister, Scott Morrison is only 52 years old, didn’t join a political office out of university but worked in marketing before becoming a politician. He was first elected in 2007 at the age of 39 and was promoted early to the front bench. He currently seems to be doing the job well and I think his life experience before entering politics bodes well for him. The other side of politics also has members that fall into the same category as Morrison and would do an equally good job if ever given the opportunity.

In conclusion, and at the age of 63, I believe we are better served by people who can withstand the physical and mental rigours of the job. These are people in their 50s who have experienced life and

should be mature, yet young enough to relate to the younger generation. We have had exceptions in Hawke and Howard and their mentorship would have been appreciated by following leaders.