Gold Australia

Perth Mint Gold and Silver Bullion Sales Jump in June

2015-07-13T17:37:00.001-07:00

Demand for Australian bullion coins surged in June, the latest Perth Mint figures show. Gold sales scored their highest level since March and silver sales moved the quickest since April. Bullion sales did retreat from a year earlier, however.

Perth Mint sales of gold coins and gold bars advanced 31,019 ounces last month, rallying 43.1% from the 21,671 ounces sold in May but down 21.3% from the 39,405 ounces delivered in June 2014. Gold sales through the first half of the year tally to 168,650 ounces, off 30% from last year’s starting six-month total of 240,991 ounces.

Perth Mint silver coins at 384,586 ounces in June jumped 13.9% from the prior month’s 337,511 ounces yet slipped 34.4% from sales of 586,358 ounces in June of last year. For the first half of 2015, silver sales combine to 2,810,994 ounces for a drop of 18% from the same six-month start in 2014 when sales reached 3,428,336 ounces.

Perth Mint Gold and Silver Sales by Month

Below is a monthly breakdown of Perth Mint bullion sales from June 2014 to June 2015.

Perth Mint Bullion Sales (in troy ounces)
	Silver	Gold
June 2015	384,586	31,019
May 2015	337,511	21,671
April 2015	472,273	26,545
March 2015	638,557	34,260
February 2015	392,114	31,981
January 2015	585,953	23,174
December 2014	477,731	40,211
November 2014	851,836	49,904
October 2014	655,881	55,350
September 2014	756,839	68,781
August 2014	818,856	36,369
July 2014	577,988	25,103
June 2014	586,358	39,405

United States Mint Bullion Sales in June

U.S. Mint bullion sales in June soared over the prior month and the year ago levels. The agency’s core American Gold Eagles at 76,000 ounces leapt 253.5% higher than May sales and jumped 56.7% higher than sales in June 2014. Its flagship American Silver Eagles at 4,840,000 ounces in June surged 139.2% from the prior month and rallied 79.8% from a year ago.

The Shanghai Stock Market Crash and China Gold Demand

2015-07-11T20:49:00.001-07:00

What Does it mean for the future of the gold market?

At present, up to 12 trillion yuan stays in domestic residents' saving accounts. The launch of individual gold investment, therefore, will allow residents to change currency assets into gold assets. At the macro level, it will expand channels for changing savings into investment, thus adjusting the money supply; in the micro aspect, allowing citizens to trade and keep gold can improve social welfare, benefiting both the country and the population.

Moreover, with the dual attributes of common commodity and currency commodity, gold is a desirable instrument for hedging. Therefore, developing gold trade for individuals is practical." – Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor, the People's Bank of China.

Shanghai stocks have fallen over 30% since mid-June. The equivalent in U.S. terms would be for the DJIA to fall 6000 points to the 11,000 level – a crash by any definition. Most of the commentary on this important subject has centered around the potential contagion effect for stock markets in the rest of Asia and beyond. There is another aspect to the crash worth considering though, and that has to do with the effect it will have on Chinese gold demand.

The Chinese people, it is well known, already have a cultural affinity to gold. That attachment just received a shot of adrenaline. Prior to June, trading volumes on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) were already running 20% higher than the previous year. Now, with crash psychology affecting thinking up and down the spectrum of investors, SGE is reporting volumes off the charts. In early July, Want China Times reported that "SGE posted a record trading volume of 48.33 million grams in a single day in late June." (48.3 metric tonnes, a big number.)

Typically stock market crashes inspire gold demand. In the case of China, where the government and central bank encourage citizen gold ownership as a matter of public policy, that lesson could become enshrined in the national psyche. The important consideration for investors elsewhere around the globe is what effect even stronger gold demand from China will have on the gold price both now and in the future.

Flow of physical metal between buyers and sellers will govern prices in China not paper trades

Ever since 2011 when China's demand began to ratchet up, clients have asked how the price of gold could be stagnant to down under the circumstances. The short answer to that question is that price discovery for gold does not occur in the physical market, but in the multi-trillion dollar leveraged paper trade in London and New York – a volume that dwarfs the physical delivery market. Now China is about to challenge that price discovery mechanism through significant infrastructure changes slated to take effect by the end of the year.

This new construct has as its base China's fundamental understanding and goals with respect to gold as summarized by Peoples Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan in our masthead quote above; its affinity for delivered physical ownership, as opposed to paper-based metal; and, the official measures it has undertaken to make inroads into the international gold market's price discovery mechanism.

To gain a better understanding of how China is likely to affect price discovery in the gold market, let's start with something of interest that surfaced as a result of the recent Shanghai crash. Financial Times reported rumors floating the markets that Goldman Sachs was responsible for manipulating stocks downward. Officials denied those rumors and a spokesman for the exchange stated that "foreign investors with access to the futures market via theQualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program were only permitted to use futures for hedging operations and are not allowed to make directional bets.

All recent trades by QFIIs complied with regulations." Of course if any manipulation of stocks were to occur, it would be executed in the leveraged futures market where bets can be placed at pennies on the dollar.

Up until I read that quote I was unaware of the strict procedures governing foreign trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), China's only futures trading venue. A further investigation, helped along with some links from Koos Jansen, the Netherlands based expert on China's burgeoning gold market, revealed stringent rules governing trade on the SHFE for domestic participants as well, though not quite as stringent as the rules for foreigners.

At the heart of those rules, SHFE imposes strict position limitations and margin requirements on traders in order to keep price speculation (or directional bets to use its term) to a minimum. Futures trading in China, clearly is meant to serve as an adjunct to the physical market instead of the other way around as it is in western gold trading centers.

Hedging is maximized. Speculation is minimized. Leverage is controlled within reasonable parameters.

Link SHFE "Operational Manual for Gold Futures Contract Trading"

Metals Watch: Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium and Copper Gain

2015-02-05T03:15:00.001-08:00

Metals Watch: Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium and Copper Gain

Gold and other metals prices settled higher overnight, getting a boost from the Chinese central bank’s decision to cut the reserve-requirement ratio for banks in an aim to boost growth.

Gold for April delivery added 0.3% to settle at US$1,264.50 an ounce.

March silver rose more than 0.4% to end at US$17.395 an ounce.

Elsewhere in metals trading, platinum for April delivery climbed 0.3% to settle at US$1,238.90 an ounce, while March palladium firmed 0.5% to end at US$790.20 an ounce.

High-grade copper for March delivery added a penny to US$2.59 a pound.

- See more at: http://investmentaustralia.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/metals-watch-gold-silver-platinum.html#sthash.JFSXgezy.dpuf

Australian Dollar Tumbles on RBA Cash Rate Cut

2015-02-03T14:13:00.001-08:00

The Australian dollar tumbled by more than one and a half cents on the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to cut the cash rate to a historic new low.

The local currency hit a fresh five-and-a-half year low to US76.57¢ on Tuesday afternoon, down from US78.16¢ just before the release. The reaction followed the central bank's decision to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 per cent after 18 months of holding the rate steady.

Despite the sharp fall in the Aussie dollar – nearly 20 per cent in the past six months – the Reserve Bank said the exchange rate remained high.

"The Australian dollar has declined noticeably against a rising US dollar over recent months, though less so against a basket of currencies," the Reserve Bank said in its statement on monetary policy.

"It remains above most estimates of its fundamental value, particularly given the significant declines in key commodity prices. A lower exchange rate is likely to be needed to achieve balanced growth in the economy."

Market forecasts the exchange rate to continue to fall. On Commonwealth Bank of Australia figures, the local currency is expected to fall towards 73¢ by June this year, but the bank's senior currency strategist Elias Haddad said there was a risk the Australian dollar will fall even further and the bank will be revising its forecast.

"We expect a further downside movement here, not just against the US dollar but also on the crosses, due to narrowing interest rate, falling commodity prices and still unimpressive Chinese economic data," Mr Haddad said.

National Australia Bank will also be revising its forecast in light of Tuesday's tumble. Back in November last year the bank forecast the Australian dollar to hit US78¢ by the end of 2015. NAB global co-head of FX strategy Ray Attrill said the bank will be reviewing its forecast after the central bank releases its statement on monetary policy on Friday.

"The market already priced in the expectations of a rate cut, but the currency still lost. It shows the market is still prepared to sell," Mr Attrill said.

In an exclusive interview with The Australian Financial Review in December last year, Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens said an appropriate level for the Australian dollar would be US75¢.

Mr Attrill said the currency could be heading towards the US70¢ mark, given the fall in the commodity prices since December.

"You can argue, if US75¢ was about the right level in mid-December, and taking into account what's happened with commodity prices generally, maybe US70¢ is more appropriate," he said.

A batch of data fuelled RBA jitters earlier on Tuesday. The Australian dollar jumped by more than third of a cent to US78.30¢ after slightly better-than-expected economic data was released: building approvals slipped 3.3 per cent in December (better than the predictions of a 5 per cent slide) and trade deficit narrowed to $436 million in December, beating expectation of more than $850 million.

#AustralianDollar #RBA #interestrates

Iron Ore Won't Rebound Any Time Soon

2015-01-28T16:21:00.001-08:00

Why Iron Ore Won't Rebound Any Time Soon

Economists may teach that low prices and declining demand encourage producers to decrease supply, but the iron ore industry appears to have skipped class that day.

"The combination of a further increase in global iron ore supply this year and only subdued demand growth suggests iron ore prices will continue to drift lower," said Caroline Bain, an analyst at Capital Economics, in a note Monday. She forecasts iron ore prices at $60 a tonne by year-end, with risks to the downside. Iron ore touched a more than five-year low Monday of around $63.30 a tonne, although some forward contracts are already pricing it under $60.

Output has picked up over the past few years, encouraged by expectations China demand would continue to post strong growth and by low production costs in Australia and Brazil, she said. She noted Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton put their average production cost in Pilbara, where most of Australia's iron-ore production is located, at around $25 a tonne, compared with 2010-13 average market prices at $145 a tonne. Even at current prices, these producers are still profitable, Bain noted. Australia is the world's second-largest iron-ore producer after China.

Despite 2014's around 50 percent decline in iron ore prices, the big four producers -- Vale (Sao Paulo Stock Exchange: VALE'A-BR), Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue (ASX:FMG-AU) - continue to expand production and other companies are also bringing projects on line this year, she said, forecasting Australian production will rise 6 percent this year, although that's down from 2014's 20 percent rise.

Don't count on China

At the same time, despite China producers' higher costs and lower ore grades, production there isn't likely to see much slowdown, especially as many steel plants have "vertically integrated" operations, owning mines nearby, Bain said. Closures on the mainland are likely to focus on less efficient operations, leading to a leaner and meaner industry there, she said.

"The multinational producers will be only partially successful in their bid to oust higher-cost producers globally and oversupply will continue to weigh on prices," she said. At the same time, China's iron ore usage will stagnate at best, hit by a combination of high inventories and lower demand to use the metal as part of financing deals, she said.

Goldman Sachs also expects iron ore producers won't be able to count on China for growth, noting it's become a mature market.

"The decade-long love affair between China and iron ore is cooling. Chinese steel consumption has increased to unsustainable levels and is bound to decline," it said in a note Friday. "Significant overinvestment to date will ensure that the market is well supplied."

It expects a "long war of attrition" will be needed to balance the market, cutting its long-term price forecast by 25 percent to $60 a tonne.

The Oil Effect

Falling oil prices are also set to weigh on iron ore prices, as they result in "substantial cost reductions", and commodity prices are likely to fall to meet these new lower levels, Citigroup said in a note Monday.

It's also concerned about oil-fueled deflationary pressures affecting commodity demand.

"Falling prices increase the real cost of debt repayments and could see increased defaults. This not only affects direct commodity demand, but also drives lower inventories and threatens commodity financing trade," it said, noting that falling commodity prices also leave companies with little incentive to build up inventories.

In a note earlier this month, the bank cut its 2015 iron ore price forecast to $58 a tonne from $65

Interest in Oil (as indicated through search volume) is Abnormally High at the Moment Due to Recent Price Decline

2015-01-27T04:40:00.001-08:00

Interest in Oil (as indicated through search volume) is Abnormally High at the Moment Due to Recent Price Decline.

Looking at the google trends chart above, we can see Interest in Oil (as indicated through search volume) is abnormally high at the moment.

This data tells us more people are searching for oil using google, likely correlation to investment therefore we can assume that people are looking to invest in oil and are researching or looking to purchase shares and futures commodities contracts online.

Last time oil price was this low four years ago, price quickly rebounded and went in access of $150 US per barrel.

Gold looks to feature more prominently also the last few months, the Swiss Gold Referendum, Swiss Depeg (de-ceiling) and repatriation of gold by European central banks lately have all been popular news story's on-line.

By Joseph Gale

Miners to Reveal Impact of Iron Ore Price Slump

2015-01-25T20:23:00.001-08:00

Miners to reveal impact of iron ore price slump

It is well and truly a buyer’s market in iron ore and this week we should find out the extent of the damage for some of the smaller players.

With iron ore prices now below $US70 a tonne after falling by half and still threatening to go lower, there are serious doubts that the full complement of miners will survive the downturn.

While the big, low-cost players Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are still ramping up production, the smaller operators are struggling, with Atlas Iron admitting it was losing money in the December quarter until oil prices dipped and returned it to slim profitability.

Chinese Government-backed Citic has announced it will be writing down the value of its Sino Iron project in Western Australia by up to $2.2 billion and further writedowns of up to $2.3 billion have already been flagged by Atlas, Mount Gibson Iron, Gindalbie Metals and Grange Resources.

On Thursday it is the turn of number three player Fortescue Metals to outline its December quarter production figures and perhaps give some guidance as to its profitability at current prices.

Fortescue chief executive Nev Power has already been critical of WA government plans to offer a 50 per cent iron ore royalty rebate to smaller players while prices are below $US90 a tonne, a move designed to keep them going in a really tough market.

BC Iron’s second quarter production is also out on Friday.

Other struggling commodities may also produce some surprises with copper/gold miners OZ Minerals, PanAust and Sandfire Resources all reporting quarterly production on Wednesday, along with oil and gas companies Beach Energy and Oil Search.

While copper and oil have both been dropping, at least gold has been heading in the other direction, which may become apparent with struggling gold giant Newcrest’s quarterly production on Friday.

The focus will also be on continuing reaction to the European Central Bank’s more than €1 trillion stimulus package, and also inflation figures due on Wednesday.

Economics Theory: Gold Will Appreciate 30% in Line with Swiss Franc, As Inflation Plays out in Fiat currencies

2015-01-25T18:41:00.001-08:00

Gold Will Appreciate 30% in Line with Swiss Franc, As Inflation Plays out in Fiat currencies

Gold Will Appreciate 30% in Line with Swiss Franc, As Inflation Plays out in Fiat currencies - the Swiss Franc represents gold and a monetary standard that is more prudent than the rest of the western central banks which have been engaging in quantitative easing incrementally in an increasing fashion.

We will see the result of easy money, which has recently been bought to light by the Swiss (who quit the game mid hand exposing the rest of the players playing with extra cards in the deck!) flow into gold as more easy money chases finite money like gold and silver, the price will rise accordingly.

The Swiss Franc is 30% more scarce than the euro (Symbolically - or as interpreted by the free market), so in turn will gold be - albeit in a delayed fashion.

See more at: http://economicstheory.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/gold-will-appreciate-30-in-line-with.html#sthash.wxspY8tV.dpuf

BHP Ramps Up Iron Ore, Petroleum Production Despite Price Slumps

2015-01-21T02:56:00.001-08:00

BHP Ramps Up Iron Ore, Petroleum Production Despite Price Slumps

BHP Billiton says it has raised group production by 9 per cent in the December half year, despite slumping prices for its key commodities.

For the 2014 December quarter BHP Billiton lifted iron ore output by 16 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier to 56.4 million tonnes.

That compares with a 12 per cent rise in Rio Tinto's output over the same period, announced yesterday, although Rio remains the bigger producer.

Both companies have lifted output over the past year despite a dramatic slump in benchmark iron ore spot prices in China from around $US135 a tonne in early 2014 to less than $US70 a tonne at the end of last year.

The benchmark Tianjin spot price was at $US67.40 yesterday.

BHP Billiton says cost cuts, some of which are related to the scale associated with extra capacity, are offsetting some of the price declines.

"We are reducing costs and improving both operating and capital productivity across the group faster than originally planned," said the company's chief executive Andrew Mackenzie.

"These improvements will help mitigate some of the impact of lower commodity prices and we remain alert to opportunities to further increase free cash flow."

While iron ore prices have fallen fast, crude oil prices have fallen faster still.

Despite this, BHP Billiton's December quarter petroleum production was 10 per cent higher than the same period a year earlier, although it was 6 per cent down on the September quarter of 2014.

Mr Mackenzie said that BHP Billiton is already cutting back its planned US petroleum investments in response to oil prices which have more than halved from their 2014 peaks.

"We have moved quickly in response to lower prices and will reduce the number of rigs we operate in our onshore US business by approximately 40 per cent by the end of this financial year," he noted in the report.

"Our ongoing shale investment program will remain focused on our liquids-rich Black Hawk acreage. However, we will keep this activity under review and make further changes if we believe defer ring development will create more value than near-term production."

Elsewhere in its portfolio of mines, BHP revealed that metallurgical coal production was up 17 per cent compared to the December quarter a year before.

Energy coal used in power stations saw a 5 per cent rise in output.

Copper production fell 4 per cent in the December quarter compared with a year earlier, alumina was 3 per cent higher, aluminium 15 per cent down and nickel 10 per cent lower.

Despite weak prospects for any price recovery in the short term, BHP Billiton said it is on track to increase petroleum and copper output by 5 per cent this financial year, iron ore by 11 per cent and steel making metallurgical coal by 4 per cent.

Iron Ore Dips Back Below $US70 a Tonne

2015-01-11T17:54:00.001-08:00

THE price of iron ore has again dipped below $US70 a tonne as investors continue to fret about Chinese demand.

At the end of the latest offshore session, benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US69.80 a tonne, down 1.1 per cent from its previous close of $US70.60 a tonne, but still 6 per cent above the five-and-a-half-year low of $US65.70 reached just prior to Christmas.

The fall below $US70 a tonne casts doubt over the latest rebound in the commodity’s price after a horror 2014 where several minor recoveries quickly fell flat.

Iron ore lost about 50 per cent over the course of last year, but a near 10 per cent lift off recent lows to levels around $US72 a tonne had raised optimism for a better 2015.

The latest losses come as investors continue to worry about the Chinese economy, with concerns that demand growth will continue to stall over the coming 12 months as Beijing looks to restructure the world’s second largest economy.

China is the world’s largest consumer of iron ore and any further signs of softening demand will cause pain for the commodity as major suppliers such as Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton continue to ramp up production.

The latest decline comes as former Morgan Stanley strategist and well-known bear Gerard Minack told Fairfax Media the price of iron ore was poised to halve in US dollar terms.

“In the boom all the other commodities went up six- or sevenfold, while iron ore went up 15 times.

“So, sure, it’s halved already, but it has further to go.”

Are We About To See A Historic Melt-Up In Gold & Silver?

2014-12-11T00:06:00.001-08:00

Are We About To See A Historic Melt-Up In Gold & Silver?

Today one of the wealthiest people in the financial world stunned King World News when he said we may be nearing a point where we see a historic melt-up in gold, silver, and the mining shares.

Rick Rule, who is business partners with billionaire Eric Sprott, also discussed exactly how this historic advance will unfold and why the up-moves will be so incredibly violent

Eric King: “Rick, are we finally seeing the more than 3-year bear market in gold and silver coming to an end?”

Rule: “You and I both believe in higher precious metals prices, Eric, so it’s tempting to say yes. Bear markets end with capitulation selloffs. I think we were on the verge of a capitulation selloff six weeks ago but we didn’t get one. The questions is, do we have to see a capitulation selloff this time? The answer is, of course not

“I said to my Chinese friends that ‘The U.S. dollar is in one way shape or form a lie.’ And they said, ‘Yes, but it’s the most liquid lie on the planet, and from that point of view we are attracted to it.’

When the confidence in the U.S. dollar begins to wane, and I say when, not if, then precious metals will shine. We may be seeing a preview of that today. But if you had bought precious metals in rubles, Eric, or yen, or the Brazilian real, you would be very happy today.

For many people who bought them in dollars this has created frustration because of the strength of the dollar vs other fiat currencies. Gold doesn’t have to win the war against the dollar, it just needs to lose it less badly for KWN readers not to be just happy, but ecstatic.”

Eric King: “In this secular bull market, if we are seeing an end to the cyclical bear market in gold, silver, and the shares, how do you see the advance unfolding off the lows? Will it give people time to get in?”

Rule: “I definitely believe it will. I believe that without a capitulation selloff, the bottom that we see will resemble the market that we saw from July 2013 - February 2014. That is a gradual saucer-shaped recovery, with higher highs and higher lows but plenty of volatility to scare people and also delay investment in the sector. And it may be that we are back into that phase after having been scared to death recently.

Certainly without the capitulation selloff what you will see is a long consolidation period that’s extremely choppy and volatile. And that has been, in my experience in the last three cycles, eventually greeted with a melt-up.

That’s the only way I can describe it if you remember 2002, Eric. This is where, finally, all of the sellers get used up and the metal gaps higher and the shares gap higher. I’m not saying that past has to be prologue but that’s what has happened the last few times we have been in a similar position.”

Eric King: “You are talking about some pretty violent upward moves.”

Rule: “Yes. It’s funny that we have been, in effect, punished in this market since 2012 and subjected to several violent down-moves, so we forget that the thing which attracted us to this sector originally was the fact that in recovery this market exhibits very violent up-moves.

Remember, people’s expectations of the future are set by their experience in the immediate past. And everybody’s experience in the immediate past going back to the tail end of 2011 has been negative. What that means is that our expectations are all negative.

What moves a market is a market that exceeds expectations, and expectations for the mining industry are pathetically low, which means we will exceed those expectations.

And when we exceed those expectations the market will move significantly higher and perhaps very violently to the upside. If you remember back to the 1993 melt-up, or the 2002 melt-up, or going back even further to the melt-up of the late 1970s, which was the most violent melt-up I’ve ever experienced in my life, these are truly spectacular events. If past is prologue, and it normally is, this will happen again.”

See this article at King World News

Swiss Franc No Longer a Safe Haven and a Possible Bottom for Gold

2014-12-10T00:30:00.001-08:00

Peter Schiff responds to the results of the "Save Our Swiss Gold" initiative this past weekend. He explains why he thinks it is bullish for gold and might have even marked gold's bottom.

0:17 – “Save Our Swiss Franc” would have been a more accurate description of the Swiss gold initiative.

0:59 – Switzerland used to have more than 40% of its reserves in gold and was very prosperous.

1:47 – The Swiss gold initiative was a threat to the powers-that-be, because it limited the ability of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to create inflation

2:35 – If the initiative had passed, Switzerland would have been an example of a strong economy in a sea of European inflation.

3:34 – How is it crazy to have only 20% of your assets in gold, but sensible to have 100% of your assets in fiat currencies?

4:30 – The Swiss originally didn’t want to adopt the euro, but now they’ve embraced a de facto euro standard.

5:30 – Gold and silver dropped dramatically after the vote, which was surprising since no one had really expected the initiative to pass.

6:23 – Gold and silver recovered their losses quickly once the United States started trading.

7:10 – Peter believes the “no” vote is more bullish for the long-term price of gold.

7:43 – If the Swiss had adopted the referendum, it would have slowed down Swiss money printing and Swiss inflation.

8:28 – When the world realizes the United States is going to return to quantitative easing, the Swiss franc will no longer be a safe-haven option. This would mean greater demand for gold.

9:36 – If the SNB won’t be buying gold on behalf of its people, the Swiss will buy gold individually to protect their purchasing power.

10:49 – Looking at historical actions of central banks, there’s a chance that gold’s low price on Sunday could end up being gold’s bottom.

At Australian Mint, History Thwarts a Golden Opportunity

2014-08-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

Greg Cooke knows where gold worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is hidden. But like many people in this mining city, his problem isn't finding the precious metal; it is being able to recover it.

That's because the gold is in the form of dust that has accumulated in the brickwork of the old Perth Mint since its founding in the 1890s at the height of one of the world's great gold rushes. Decades of refining resulted in tiny fragments of gold embedding themselves in the fabric of the mint's historic melting house. To paraphrase a well-known bit of mining lore, there's gold in them thar walls!

"The gold in the walls isn't visible. You can't see it," said Mr. Cooke, a gold pourer at the mint. "But the moment you point it out to people, you see their eyes darting around the room with excitement."

Security is unobtrusive in the melting house, which was decommissioned in 1990. On any given day, tourists seeking a fix of Australia's gold rush history wander around the room pretty much undisturbed though they are within spitting distance of the secret hoard.

"I'd love to have a scrape," said Sacha Hibbitt, a 19-year-old student from England who was visiting Australia with a friend. "I like gold, and it would be nice to sell to pay for our trip."

It is a different story at the mint's current gold-refining hub near Perth airport, 10 miles away. There, the mint doesn't allow visitors and all employees must be vetted by the police's Gold-Stealing Detection Unit—nicknamed the "gold squad." To get to work requires passing through something like airport security, including metal detectors, while employees' every move is captured by cameras.

In 2011, the Perth Mint produced the world's largest gold bullion coin, weighing one ton and worth about US$50 million. The coin had its own security detail on a recent roadshow around Europe and Asia, even though it takes heavy-lifting equipment to move it around.

When 14 of the 15 old furnaces in the Perth Mint's melting house were scrapped, they were crushed and around 18 kilograms of gold was recovered, worth around US$800,000 at today's prices. That inspired management to look a little higher, sending a young worker up for days to scrape the ceiling for gold.

"It is one of those old corrugated roofs, so we got a young kid on a cherry picker, hoisted him up with a wire brush and told him to start scraping," said Mr. Cooke. He recovered an extra 1.5 kilograms.

Around the time the mint was founded in the 1890s, thousands of people were working on gold deposits in Western Australia. Among them was a young American engineer named Herbert Hoover, who managed the Sons of Gwalia mine for a year before returning to America. He became the 31st president of the U.S. in 1929.

Nuggets unearthed in the red clay of the Outback were brought to Perth to be melted down into gold bars or coins.

How the gold came to end up in the mint's walls is explained by the old technology. For decades, gold was refined using charcoal and coke, which were variable in temperature. When the furnaces got too hot, sometimes reaching 1,700 degrees Celsius (3,092 Fahrenheit), it caused the gold to vaporize and lodge itself in the brickwork.

In the 1950s, officials became so worried by the scale of the losses that they installed a device in the mint's main smokestack to catch gold dust.

Mr. Cooke believes there is still more gold in the walls of the mint. "All I want to know is who does the cleaning?" said Julie Bitton, 48, who was visiting the mint from New South Wales with her 14-year-old daughter, Marley.

Still, harvesting the precious metal isn't likely to happen soon, if at all. Gold's appeal cuts little ice with Western Australia's heritage officers who demand the walls remain untouched because of the building's heritage listing. This year's massive renovation of the old mint, which stands on the same site where it was established, excluded the melting house.

"It is important that works to heritage places are undertaken with care to try to protect the elements that tell the individual stories of a place," said State Heritage Office Executive Director Graeme Gammie. That includes protecting old woodwork and even original paint.

Disappointed prospectors should draw comfort from the fact that gold is found in plenty of unusual places—from termite mounds to the human body.

Last year, Australian scientists found that eucalyptus trees in the Outback were drawing gold particles up from the soil via the trees' root system and depositing them in their leaves and branches. Alas, these nuggets are only about one-fifth the diameter of a human hair.

Back at the old mint, Mr. Cooke says the brick walls aren't the only hidden store of gold. Officials carry out nearly 50 gold-pouring demonstrations for tour groups each week, and residue of the precious metal that remains in the clay-and-graphite pots needs to be recovered. Every two weeks, the pots are crushed to recover gold worth as much as US$200 apiece.

"We lose a gram of gold a day in the furnace or the pots or from spilling," Mr. Cooke said. "That is an ounce a month and might not sound like a lot, but it is a lot for our accountants."

Cheap Gold Mining Stocks Surge

2014-06-22T23:04:00.002-07:00

Gold stocks have surged dramatically in recent weeks, defying the odds to catch a serious bid. Extreme bearishness still plagues this sector, which is certainly the most despised in all the stock markets. So why are investors returning? The universally-hated gold stocks are absurdly cheap, easily the greatest bargains anywhere. And after a long year of basing, they are finally breaking out relative to the gold price.

It’s easy to understand why everyone hates the precious-metals sector these days. During the first half of 2013 when the mighty S&P 500 general-stock index powered 12.6% higher, gold plunged 26.4%. Thanks to the Fed’s stock-market levitation, American stock traders dumped the dominant GLD gold ETF at epic record rates, flooding the gold market with excess supply. The resulting gold drop obliterated gold stocks.

Their primary index, the HUI gold-stock index, plummeted by 48.7% over that span! So this entire sector was abandoned, left for dead by existing investors and avoided like the Black Death by new investors. Bearishness was off the charts, with widespread predictions gold and its miners’ stocks were doomed to spiral lower forever. Yet like nearly all popular forecasts at market extremes, that one was dead wrong.

The precious-metals sector instead stabilized over this past year, drawing a line in the sand and basing. As of this week, gold is up 3.4% and the HUI merely off 0.9% since the end of last June. Not the worst sector sentiment seen in decades, not stupendous record gold and silver futures shorting, not even the Fed’s ongoing stock-market levitation could force the precious metals lower. New buying absorbed all the selling.

And that brings us to today, where the precious metals are surging to break out of this year-long base. And this is happening in the midst of the dreaded summer doldrums no less, the weakest time of the year seasonally for this sector totally devoid of recurring investment-demand spikes. So much strength now is a harbinger of a sea-change shift in capital flows back into gold stocks, which are exceedingly undervalued.

The vast majority of investors have woefully short memories, forgetting the past to delude themselves into believing the last year-and-a-half were normal for precious metals. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Between November 2000 and September 2011 when the S&P 500 retreated 14.2% in a brutal secular bear, the HUI skyrocketed 1664.4% higher! When gold stocks are moving, great fortunes are won.

Fundamentally, few sectors are simpler and easier to understand than gold miners. These companies wrest the shiny yellow metal from the bowels of the earth, and then sell it at market prices. Thus their overall profitability, and resulting earnings-per-share measures that drive future stock prices, are utterly dominated by the gold price. When gold rises, gold-mining profits leverage these gains to soar higher.

So the best way to view gold-stock price levels from an investing standpoint is through the lens of their relationship with gold. For nearly a decade now, I’ve done extensive research into trading this sector using the HUI/Gold Ratio. The daily close in that leading gold-stock index is simply divided by the daily close in gold, and the resulting ratio charted. This has led to massive profits from timing buying and selling.

But these days more and more investors are shifting their capital away from holding individual stocks into exchange-traded funds. This trend is understandable yet unfortunate, as a carefully-handpicked sector portfolio of elite stocks will nearly always outperform the broader baskets held by ETFs. But that’s the way things are going, for better or for worse. So I’ve long been wondering about the HGR’s ETF equivalent.

The HUI itself can’t be bought, but the flagship GDX Gold Miners ETF can be. GDX is a worthy gold-stock benchmark, as it is well-constructed with quality component gold and silver stocks and tracks the classic HUI almost perfectly. And if GDX is replacing the HUI in the gold-stock/gold ratio numerator, why not throw in the GLD gold ETF in the denominator? So this week I took my first deeper look at the GDX/GLD Ratio.

This new GGR is functionally identical to the old HGR, quantifying gold-stock price levels relative to the underlying gold price which drives their profits and hence ultimately stock prices. So naturally the GGR reveals the same picture the HGR has, that gold-stock prices have been losing ground relative to gold for a long time and are radically undervalued. Here’s the chart since GDX’s first full year of trading in 2007.

The blue GGR is slaved to the right axis, and shows gold stocks’ performance relative to gold. When the GGR is rising, gold stocks are outperforming gold. This can be from either rallying faster than gold in major uplegs, or falling slower than gold in major corrections. But the latter never actually happens. When the GGR is falling, gold is outperforming gold stocks by rising faster in uplegs or falling slower in corrections.

Incredibly for nearly 7 years now, gold stocks have been underperforming gold on balance! The GGR has done little more than fall and fall and fall. Other than the 17-year secular bulls and bears endlessly oscillating through stock-market history, any trend in any market running for 7 years is exceedingly rare. Most trends reverse after 4 years, 5 on the outside. The longer any trend runs, the bigger the subsequent mean reversion.

So right off the bat, it’s immediately obvious there is a huge anomaly in gold-stock pricing today. No matter how vociferously the bears argue, gold stocks aren’t going to fall relative to gold and therefore their profits forever. At some point this trend, which is essentially a secular bear in gold-stock sentiment, will absolutely reverse. And odds are this past year’s basing has finally ushered in that critical inflection point.

To game where this hated sector is heading, we first have to understand how it got here. Back in 2007 before 2008’s once-in-a-lifetime stock panic, the GGR averaged 0.591x over the first 8 calendar quarters of GDX’s existence. The share price of the GDX gold-stock ETF meandered around 0.6x the share price of the GLD gold ETF. Even if these pre-panic levels never return, today’s ultra-low GGR is wildly bullish for gold stocks.

During that epic stock panic, the extreme general-stock selling led to gargantuan safe-haven demand for the US dollar (cash). So as the US Dollar Index skyrocketed in its biggest and fastest rally ever witnessed over such a short span in late 2008, the alternative currency gold was hammered in crazy-heavy futures selling. So gold fell too during the stock panic, terrifying gold-stock investors into panicking as well.

Gold stocks plummeted so much faster than gold that by late October 2008 near the panic’s nadir the GGR had free-fallen to just 0.227x. Gold stocks were trading at just 3/8ths of their pre-panic levels relative to gold which drives their profits, which was absurdly cheap as I pointed out at the time using the HGR. And as expected, after being loathed and extremely undervalued gold stocks started soaring again.

Mean reversions out of extremes are the most powerful and profitable forces in all the financial markets. Riding one has enormous benefits for your wealth. Over the next several years after those super-irrational stock-panic lows, gold stocks as measured by GDX would more than quadruple with a 307.0% gain. This trounced the S&P 500’s measly 39.7% gain over this span by nearly an entire order of magnitude!

After such a tremendous bull run, gold and the gold stocks needed to correct. The metal was simply very overbought, as I warned right at its August 2011 top. And the necessary gold correction, and the resulting GDX correction from its all-time record high, was totally normal until mid-2012. At that point gold and the gold stocks bottomed. The miners outperformed so the GGR climbed higher again for the better part of a year.

But in early 2013, the US Federal Reserve foolishly and recklessly chose to use record money printing to monetize bonds along with jawboning to drive the stock markets higher. The Fed implied it was going to backstop stock prices, by being ready to ease more to arrest any material selloff. So the stock markets started to dangerously levitate, gradually sucking capital and interest away from alternative investments including gold.

American stock traders dumped their GLD shares far faster than gold itself was being sold, which forced this massive ETF’s custodians to liquidate bullion to raise the capital necessary to sop up the excess GLD-share supply. So GLD saw shockingly-large record outflows of 552.6 metric tons of gold last year, which was 84% of the total drop in global gold demand! As gold fell, the gold stocks were pulled into the carnage.

Nothing was normal about last year, the Fed made it the most anomalous year in the markets seen in our lifetimes after the 2008 stock panic. The resulting fear, despair, and loathing in precious metals was breathtakingly extreme. Nearly everyone predicted gold, silver, and their miners’ stocks would continue sliding forever. Except for a handful of hardcore contrarians like me, who argued they were bottoming.

We’ve been proven right, although this bottoming process has taken far longer than I ever imagined a year ago. Despite facing howling headwinds since then as the Fed’s insane stock-market levitation continued, gold and the gold stocks have bottomed. They’ve spent this past year basing, with big new buyers absorbing all the relentless selling pressure. This has led to the GGR stabilizing since last summer.

And this ETF-based gold-stock/gold ratio is starting to break out from its incredible 7-year downtrend. Just in recent weeks, the GGR has poked its head above its secular resistance. While it’s early still and we’ll need a few more months to confirm this nascent breakout, it has wildly bullish implications for gold-stock prices. Contrarian investors willing to buy low in this past year when few others would are going to win fortunes.

Since the end of last June, the GGR has averaged 0.196x during this massive precious-metals basing. That is anomalously low and utterly unsustainable. Even during 2008’s wild stock panic, the most extreme fear superstorm most of us will ever see in our lifetimes, the GGR briefly hit a considerably-higher 0.227x before gold stocks bounced violently and surged for years relative to gold. This should happen again.

After plummeting 71% in that stock panic, such extreme lows and unbalanced hyper-bearish sentiment led GDX to more than quadruple in the subsequent years. And since that record peak this ETF has lost a nearly identical 69% and fallen to even more extreme lows relative to gold. Thus I fully expect this next coming mean reversion in gold-stock price levels to quadruple them again, their upside potential is massive.

The entire history of the GDX/GLD Ratio since this gold-stock ETF was born in May 2006 averaged 0.405x. And that is right in line with the post-panic normal range of this key gold-stock pricing indicator in the 10 calendar quarters following 2008’s stock panic, 0.419x. So no matter what, the GGR ought to return to this normal range in the coming year or two. From this week’s levels, that means a 107% GDX surge.

This next chart zooms in on the GGR and GDX itself over the past several years or so, highlighting how far up normal gold-stock valuations relative to gold are from here. The case for a double in gold-stock prices from today’s dismal levels is a no-brainer, an exceedingly-high-probability-for-success contrarian trade. Extreme price lows accompanied by extreme bearishness always breed extreme mean reversions.

As part of their year-long basing process, flushing out all the defeated capitulating former gold-stock investors who foolishly sold low, GDX hit a 5.1-year low in late December. Gold stocks hadn’t traded at lower absolute price levels since 2008’s stock panic, after which they more than quadrupled. But even more important was their pricing relative to gold, with the GGR falling to a sub-panic all-time record low.

And that’s the first of two reasons why a gold-stock quadruple is coming over the next several years or so. Financial-market prices and sentiment are like a giant pendulum. The farther they are pulled to one extreme by excessive greed or fear, the farther they necessarily swing to the opposite extreme in the subsequent mean reversion. Like pendulums, these reversions don’t magically stop right in the middle at normal again.

Their kinetic momentum carries them through to the opposite ends of their arcs. So there is almost no chance the next gold-stock cyclical bull will conveniently stop around the normal post-panic average GGR of 0.419x. They are going to overshoot proportionally. Doubling the 0.217x difference between today’s GGR and that average, and adding it onto today’s levels for a full overshoot, yields a GGR target of 0.636x.

That sounds high, and it is. But overshoot extremes don’t last for long, as the universal greed necessary to fuel them quickly burns itself out. And that GGR level certainly isn’t unprecedented. In the second half of 2006, just after GDX was born when gold stocks were last popular, the GGR averaged 0.623x. A standard mean-reversion overshoot of gold-stock prices relative to gold takes their projected gains to more than a triple.

The quadruple potential comes from gold itself, which is also universally hated and thus still trading at anomalous levels far below where it should be. As the wildly overvalued and overextended US stock markets inevitably roll over into their next serious selloff that will likely grow into a new cyclical bear, gold will return to favor as an essential portfolio diversifier. Western investment demand for it will come back.

Between American stock investors migrating capital back into GLD, and American futures speculators buying to cover their record precious-metals shorts, gold is going to rebound dramatically in the coming years. And the higher gold goes, the higher gold stocks will need to be bid to keep the GGR in line. Even plugging in very conservative numbers yields incredibly impressive gold-stock price-target levels.

For example, last year’s Fed-driven anomaly led gold to plunge 27.9%. If it merely regained 25% from its year-end-2013 level, a pathetic mean reversion after such a wild extreme, it would hit $1507. That’s a low gold price, as gold traded above that continuously for 21 months ending at last April’s gold panic. Translate that into $150ish GLD terms, and a 0.63x GGR overshoot yields a GDX target price of $94.50!

That’s nearly a quadruple from today’s dismal GDX levels, and given the epic record money printing by the crazy Fed that’s just starting to come home to roost in the form of wicked inflation, I expect gold prices to surge to new record highs well above $2000 in the years to come. So the resulting gold-stock target levels are far higher than this conservative example indicates. Gold stocks are an incredible investment here!

And in addition to the mean reversion in gold prices igniting serious gold-stock buying, another catalyst is coming too. The second quarter of 2013’s epic GLD capital outflows led to the worst quarter for gold in 93 years. So many of the miners took huge non-cash writeoffs in Q2’13 for the resulting impairments of their gold projects. These more than erased operating profits, leaving this sector temporarily devoid of earnings.

So with no conventional P/E ratios over the past year since those writeoffs, investors have shunned this sector not knowing how to value it. But once Q2’14 earnings are reported in late July and August, Q2’13 will roll off the books. Thus gold stocks will have price-to-earnings ratios again, and they will be super-low given gold stocks’ battered price levels. This should spark a surge of heavy institutional buying.

Although owning GDX to ride this mean reversion is fine, a custom portfolio of expertly-handpicked individual gold miners with superior fundamentals will vastly outperform it. GDX is overly-diversified, and the larger gold miners that will see smaller gains are heavily weighted. At Zeal we’ve spent well over a decade researching gold and silver miners and explorers, and our accumulated expertise is priceless.

We just finished our latest 3-month deep-research project looking into the universe of junior gold producers trading in the US and Canada. We started with 63 stocks and gradually whittled them down to our dozen fundamental favorites, all of which are profiled in depth in a fascinating new 23-page report just published this week. Buy it now, learn about the best junior gold miners, and invest while gold stocks remain dirt-cheap in the summer doldrums! They will likely be soaring this autumn.

The bottom line is the cheap gold stocks have been basing for an entire year now. After the extreme once-in-a-lifetime Fed-driven GLD-selling anomaly in 2013, bearishness was epic. Yet despite the ongoing stock-market-levitation headwinds, the precious metals and their miners’ stocks consolidated instead of spiraling into the abyss like everyone predicted. New investors absorbed all of the relentless selling.

This strong basing has led to a nascent breakout from the tired 7-year trend of gold stocks underperforming gold. Today this despised sector is radically undervalued relative to the metal which drives its profits and hence ultimately stock prices. So as gold-stock prices and gold itself mean revert in the coming years, gold stocks should easily quadruple. There’s no other sector in the stock markets with such bullish potential.

Battle of the Coral Sea Silver 1/2 oz and Gold 1/10th oz

2014-05-12T02:24:00.001-07:00

Battle of the Coral Sea Silver 1/2 oz and Gold 1/10th oz Bullion Rounds from Goldwire

These Limited Production 1/10 oz. Gold Bullion and a ½ oz. Silver Bullion Coins Honor Allied Forces Who Fought in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Battle of the Coral Sea Silver 1/2 oz and Gold 1/10th oz Bullion

The Coral Sea bullion coins display a WWII battleship encircled by the words, “Battle of the Coral Sea War in the Pacific 1941-45.”

The gold coin contains one-tenth ounce .9999 fine gold and the silver coin contains one-half ounce .999 fine silver.

These coins are Australian legal tender and, due to their purity, may be included in precious metals IRAs. The Perth Mint, the official mint of the Western Australian government, enjoys a reputation for innovation and superb quality.

Australia Gold: AGSX (Australian Gold and Silver Exchange) Gold Bullion

2014-05-05T19:20:00.001-07:00

The new and exciting XAU & XAG series from the Australian Gold & Silver Exchange featuring the Crown Kangaroo - a symbol of dignity in heraldic designs

1oz Gold Cast Bar – AGSX
Brand: AGSX
Metal: 1 Troy oz 99.99% Gold
Condition: Brand New in Original Issue Condition

Gold Lunar Year of the Horse Bullion Coin Announced - Perth Mint Lunar Series 2

2013-08-27T05:08:00.001-07:00

Gold Lunar Year of the Horse Bullion S2

These magnificent gold coins celebrate the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

As well as appealing to investors, these superb releases are perfect for people born in the Year of the Horse – 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 and 2014.

Those born under the influence of this sign are said to be hardworking, sociable, optimistic and energetic.

No mintage limit applies to 1kg, 10oz, 2oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz, 1/10oz, and 1/20oz coins. However, production will close at the end of 2014 when The Perth Mint will declare each coin's official mintage.

A maximum of 10 10kg coins will be produced on a mint-to-order basis. Similarly, production will close at the end of 2014 when the coin's mintage will be declared.

The Perth Mint will produce no more than 30,000 1oz coins. Production will cease when the mintage is fully sold or at the end of the series, whichever comes first. Due to the low mintage of the 1oz size it is highly collectable and is sure to sell out fast.

Meticulously struck from 99.99% pure gold in bullion quality, the coins are issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965.

Each coin’s reverse depicts a horse galloping amid a stylised scene of mountains and clouds. The Chinese character for ‘horse’ and the inscription ‘Year of the Horse’ also appear in the design with The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark.
The Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the 2014 year-date and monetary denomination are shown on the obverse of each coin.

All Australian Lunar 2014 Year of the Horse gold bullion coins are presented in protective acrylic capsules.

Available in nine sizes - 10 kilo, 1 kilo, 10oz, 2oz, 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz, 1/10oz and 1/20oz

The Land Down Under – Captain James Cook 2013 1/4oz Gold Proof Coin

2013-07-20T01:56:00.001-07:00

Proof Quality 99.99% Pure Gold
Stunning Reverse Design
Australian Legal Tender
Australian Map-Shaped Display Case
Numbered Certificate of Authenticity
Extremely Limited Mintage – 1,000

The third design from the iconic Land Down Under program depicts famed explorer, Captain James Cook. Captain Cook’s place in Australian history cannot be underestimated. On his first voyage alone, he charted thousands of miles of Australia’s coastline with astonishing accuracy. He is remembered as a courageous individual and one of the foremost navigators of his age.

PROOF QUALITY 99.99% PURE GOLD

The Land Down Under – Captain James Cook 2013 1/4oz coin is struck from 99.99% pure gold in proof quality.

STUNNING REVERSE DESIGN

The coin’s reverse depicts a seated portrait of Captain Cook with HMS Bark Endeavour in the background. The inscription THE LAND DOWN UNDER and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark also appear in the design.

AUSTRALIAN LEGAL TENDER

Issued as Australian legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965, the coin’s obverse depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the year-date and the monetary denomination.

AUSTRALIAN MAP-SHAPED DISPLAY CASE

Housed in a unique Australian map-shaped latex case with a stylised shipper, this beautiful coin is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

EXTREMELY LIMITED MINTAGE

The Perth Mint will release no more than 1,000 of these Captain James Cook 1/4oz Gold Proof Coins from The Land Down Under series.

Technical Specifications:

Gold Content (Troy oz)	0.25
Monetary Denomination (AUD)	25
Fineness (% purity)	99.99
Minimum Gross Weight (g)	7.777
Maximum Diameter (mm)	20.60
Maximum Thickness (mm)	2.00
Maximum Mintage	1,000
Designer	Tom Vaughan

- See more at: http://metalcoins.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/the-land-down-under-captain-james-cook.html#sthash.Yxh4D2JK.dpuf

THE LAND DOWN UNDER - DIDGERIDOO 2013 1/4 Ounce Proof Gold Coin - Perth Mint

2013-04-04T05:40:00.001-07:00

Land Down Under – Didgeridoo 2013 1/4oz Gold Proof Coin at The Perth Mint, featuring:

Proof Quality 99.99% Pure Gold
Australian Legal Tender
Stunning Struck Reverse Design
Unique Display Case
Limited Mintage – 1,000

The iconic didgeridoo is the second coin to be released from The Land Down Under coin series issued by The Perth Mint.

PROOF QUALITY 99.99% PURE GOLD

The coin is struck by The Perth Mint from 1/4oz of 99.99% gold in proof quality.

AUSTRALIAN LEGAL TENDER

Issued as Australian legal tender, the coin’s obverse depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the year-date and the monetary denomination.

STUNNING STRUCK REVERSE DESIGN

The coin’s reverse depicts an Australian playing the didgeridoo in an outback bush setting. The inscription THE LAND DOWN UNDER and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark are also incorporated in the design.

UNIQUE DISPLAY CASE

The coin is housed in a unique Australian map shaped latex case with a stylised shipper, and is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

LIMITED MINTAGE

Extremely limited, The Perth Mint will release no more than 1,000 of these Didgeridoo 2013 1/4oz Gold Proof Coins from The Land Down Under series.

Coin Background:

Australia is a continent rich in history, cultural diversity and unique habitats. The Perth Mint is proud to present this new series showcasing Australia’s discovery, culture, lifestyle and landmarks.

A unique wind instrument, the didgeridoo is traditionally made from the trunk of termite-hollowed eucalyptus trees. Often referred to as the sound of Australia, it is possibly one of the oldest musical instruments on Earth.

Technical Specifications:

Gold Content (Troy oz)	0.25
Monetary Denomination (AUD)	25
Fineness (% purity)	99.99
Minimum Gross Weight (g)	7.777
Maximum Diameter (mm)	20.60
Maximum Thickness (mm)	2.00
Maximum Mintage	1,000
Designer	Tom Vaughan

2013 $500 Five Ounce Gold Kangaroo Road Sign Coin

2013-02-10T02:22:00.001-08:00

Theme

The Royal Australian Mint is proud to present an artist’s impression
of the internationally recognised kangaroo road sign.

This classic road sign has presided over Australian roads for
decades and been idolised by millions of tourists each year during
their travels.

Available in one ounce, five ounce and one kilogram in gold and
silver this design is the first of a five year series.

Presented in a luxurious black leatherette case with an elegant
outer box these coins are sure to appeal to the discerning collector.

The one kilo gold and one kilo silver will be on a made to order
basis

Reverse Designer: Wojciech Pietranik
Obverse Designer: Wojciech Pietranik/Ian Rank-Broadley

2013 Perth Mint Kangaroo Gold Bullion Coins - One Ounce and One Kilo Australia Gold

2013-02-06T16:30:00.001-08:00

A new design, mintages and release date for 2013 Australian Kangaroo Gold Bullion Coins were revealed this week by the Perth Mint of Australia.

Offered in varying mintages and ranging in five sizes from the smallest 1/4 ounce to the largest 1 kilo, the 99.99% pure gold bullion coins will make their official entrance via Perth Mint distribution channels on October 1, 2012.

Reverses for all but the largest coin feature a new design, which is that of a kangaroo set against a bush scene. Inscriptions surrounding the reverses include AUSTRALIAN KANGAROO, the year 2013, the coin’s precious metal weight and 9999 GOLD. The Perth Mint’s mint mark, P, is placed within the outer portion of the central scene.

The series of gold bullion coins has offered annually changing kangaroo designs since 1990, displacing images of Australian gold nuggets that the series was first known for between its introduction in 1987 and 1989. In fact, the bullion series was still known as the "Australian Nugget" series until the name "Australian Kangaroo" began being used in 2008.

1 kilo sized coins have been around since 1992, and have always depicted the classic image of a red kangaroo by Dr Stuart Devlin AO CMG, goldsmith and jeweller to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Inscriptions on it are the same as on the smaller coins, with the exception of words RED KANGAROO beneath the jumping marsupial.

Obverses of all the coins feature the same portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, plus the inscriptions of their face value, ELIZABETH II, and AUSTRALIA.

Mintage limits and specifications remain the same as prior years, and are listed in the following table:

Specifications for 2013 Kangaroo Gold Bullion Coins

Size	1 kilo	1 oz	1/2 oz	1/4 oz	1/10 oz
Minimum Gross Weight (g)	1,000.100	31.112	15.554	7.777	3.111
Diameter (mm)	75.60	32.60	25.60	20.60	16.60
Thickness (mm)	13.90	2.80	2.40	2.00	1.50
Face Value (AUD)	$3,000	$100	$50	$25	$15
Mintage Limit	unlimited	350,000	100,000	150,000	200,000
Gold Content (Troy oz)	32.151	1	.5	.25	.1

Each bullion coin carries an Australian Government guarantee of weight and purity, and they are considered legal tender under the Australian Currency Act of 1965.

Ten Mining Stocks That Look Set To Rebound

2013-02-04T14:32:00.001-08:00

Mining stocks have taken the brunt of the walloping on the sharemarket but the selling is largely indiscriminate, prompting many people to ask whether some resource stocks are oversold.

There are reasons to be wary though, as 334 miners have a weak cash balance, below $2 million – a level which usually rings alarm bells.

While E.I.M. Capital Managers director Tony Wiggins believes the sector is littered with value traps, he says “special situation” resource companies have potential.

These are miners that face corporate activity (such as those involved in takeovers) or close to achieving a significant milestone (such as making the transition from explorer to producer or reaching full-production capacity).

Experts speaking to The Australian Financial Review this week nominated the following 10 mining stocks as best placed to rebound in the coming months.

Sundance Resources (SDL)

The Africa-focused iron ore hopeful is one that fits the “special situations” bill well, Wiggins says. It’s been on a wild ride since Chinese shareholder Hanlong Mining Group made a takeover bid last year. But doubts about Hanlong’s ability to finance the takeover have cast a long shadow over Sundance Resources.
While Hanlong eventually secured financier commitment letters from two banks, the market is sceptical and the stock is trading well under the offer price of 45¢ a share.

“There’s a very low chance of the deal falling over now,” Tony Wiggins says. “People won’t believe it until the deal is consummated.” By then, however, the opportunity would have been lost.

Pluton Resources (PLV)

Scepticism is also dragging heavily on fellow iron ore miner Pluton Resources. Investors lost faith due to lengthy delays in securing finance for its acquisition of the Cockatoo Island project.

When Pluton completes its first iron ore shipment from Cockatoo, Wiggins says, it will convert the disbelievers. The project has no infrastructure issues and has a free-on-board cost of just $51 a tonne of iron ore before state royalties.

Kalnorth Gold Mines (KGM)

Set to transition from an explorer to a producer by February, this is another resource stock that will probably get a re-rating as its risk profile decreases.

Kalnorth has managed the transition well, having struck a deal with St Barbara to use its ore-processing mill rather than funding its own.

“What investors are getting is positive cash flow from early next year and no more dilution [from capital raisings],” says Wiggins.

Saracen Mineral Holdings (SAR)

The gold sector is a good place to be hunting for oversold bargains as economic conditions support the precious metal, Phillip Resources Fund’s chief investment officer, Chris Bain, says.

Gold producers with the biggest rebound potential, however, are likely to be those that can rein in ballooning costs in the December quarter.

“Saracen’s costs did blow out substantially but they’ve now got the credit facility in place for their expansion, their [ore] grades are improving and they seem to have costs under control,” Bain says.

If Saracen can control rising costs over the next two quarters, the stock is likely to find a 30 per cent or so upside, he predicts.

Saracen’s cash cost in the past quarter was about $900 an ounce of gold compared to $700-plus an ounce only a year ago.

Perseus Mining (PRU)

Having lost more than 20 per cent of its share price value over the past six weeks, Perseus Mining could rebound if the Sissingué gold project gets going in the Ivory Coast, Bain says. Political issues have dogged the project but the sell-off doesn’t seem to be justified given management’s delivery on promises and quality assets.

Silver Lake Resources (SLR)

Another goldminer whose stock has fallen about 20 per cent, Silver Lake Resources, is very much in the same category as Perseus.

A weaker than expected September quarter production result was one of the key drivers of its poor performance, says Troy Irvin, director of investment house Argonaut.

But, he says, its Mt Monger mine is “operationally sound with substantial productivity gains leading to higher volumes”.

Irvin favours Silver Lake’s acquisition of Integra Mining as it instantly makes the miner a producer of 250,000 ounces of gold a year, with the Murchison development project giving it potential to grow production to 400,000 ounces.

Argonaut has a “buy” recommendation on the stock and a price target of $4.40.

Troy Resources (TRY)

The South American-focused gold and copper producer is another of Irvin’s picks. Persistent sovereign risk concerns and cost inflation in Argentina had sparked a 14 per cent sell-off in the stock since early October.
News of a cost blowout at Barrick’s nearby Pascua Lama project in Chile is adding to anxiety. While Troy clearly has its challenges, the miner’s project is a high ore grade and high-margin proposition.

Further, Troy has a frugal capital structure with only 91 million shares on issue, and an enviable 13-year track record of paying dividends. Argonaut is urging investors to “buy” the stock with a $5.80 price target.

Tiger Resources (TGS)

It’s not only gold that is glittering. LimeStreet Capital believes the outlook for copper is also promising due to the lack of any significant new copper projects.

Tiger Resources could be an inviting takeover target by the big copper producers, according to LimeStreet.
Tiger has plunged 26 per cent this year, which seems excessive given strong cash flow and big earnings growth potential for 2012-13.

Rex Minerals (REX)

The junior copper-gold explorer is a riskier proposition, but Chris Bain thinks that it’s worth the punt following the 44 per cent collapse in its share price since January.

While Rex’s South Australian prospects look promising, it will need around $700 million to fund development work.

That’s a tough ask for a junior with a market capitalisation of about $150 million.

“They have a lot of hard work to do, but the asset is there, it’s valuable and it will become a mine,” Bain says.

“It’s a matter of whether the market is kind enough to let them raise the capital or someone says ‘I’ll have that thanks’.”

Rex did a capital raising not too long ago at $1.20 and the stock is trading around 80¢. Many investors are still hurting.

Mirabela Nickel (MBN)

While it seems counter intuitive for anyone to bat for Mirabela Nickel given the challenging outlook for nickel, Troy Irvin thinks that the risk has been more than factored into the miner’s share price after the stock shed two-thirds of its value in 12 months.

While nickel prices are hovering around a three-year low on concerns that the market is oversupplied, Mirabela’s operations are improving.

Its Santa Rita mine in Brazil, for example, has recorded consecutive improvement in its quarterly performance.

The miner has also completed a recent expansion and cost-cutting is starting to deliver results.

Mirabela is still profitable at current nickel prices and Irvin believes that it offers “unrivalled leverage” to any rebound in nickel prices.

Land Down Under – Sydney Opera House $25 Legal Tender 2013 Quarter Ounce Gold Proof Coin - The Perth Mint

2013-02-02T05:54:00.001-08:00

The Perth Mint is pleased to announce its significant new collector coin program for 2013. The Land Down Under series will showcase Australia’s iconic landmarks, ancient culture, unique discovery and enviable lifestyle.

The series will commence with the landmark theme, represented by the architectural masterpiece that is Sydney Opera House. As a renowned heritage site, a premier performance venue and the central site for Australia’s celebratory occasions, Sydney Opera House is visited by millions of people each year.

Proof Quality 99.99% Pure Gold

The coin is struck by The Perth Mint from 1/4oz of 99.99% gold in proof quality.

Stunning Reverse Design

The coin’s reverse depicts Sydney Opera House and Sydney harbour. The inscription THE LAND DOWN UNDER and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark are also incorporated in the design.

Australian Legal Tender

$25 Legal Tender . Issued as Australian legal tender, the coin’s obverse depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the year-date and the monetary denomination.

Extremely Limited Mintage

The Perth Mint will release no more than 1,000 of these Sydney Opera House 2013 1/4oz Gold Proof Coins.

Unique Display Case and Numbered Certificate

The coin is housed in a unique latex case, which has been created in the shape of Australia, and is presented within a superb themed shipper. Each coin is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

Land Down Under – Sydney Opera House 2013 1/4oz Gold Proof Coin at The Perth Mint, featuring:

Significant New Series for 2013
Proof Quality 99.99% Pure Gold
Stunning Reverse Design
Australian Legal Tender
Extremely Limited Mintage – 1,000
Unique Display Case and Numbered Certificate

Technical Specifications:

Gold Content (Troy oz)	0.25
Monetary Denomination (AUD)	25
Fineness (% purity)	99.99
Minimum Gross Weight (g)	7.777
Maximum Diameter (mm)	20.60
Maximum Thickness (mm)	2.00
Maximum Mintage	1,000
Designer	Natasha Muhl

Prospector Strikes 5.5kg Gold Nugget in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

2013-01-20T13:09:00.000-08:00

A WHOPPING 5.5kg gold nugget worth up to $300,000 has been found in bush near Ballarat.

The "incredibly rare" nugget was found 60cm underground by a prospector, who wishes to remain anonymous, on Wednesday.

Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop owner and dealer Cordell Kent said the prospector heard a faint noise on his detector and removed a dense pile of leaf mulch before he started digging.

"He thought he had detected the bonnet of a car when he saw a glint of gold," Mr Kent said.

"He cleaned the top of it and the gold kept expanding and expanding ... he saw more and more gold ... he couldn’t believe what he was seeing."

The nugget is worth about $282,000 in weight, but has an added premium because it is rare to find one over a kilogram, Mr Kent said.

"I have been a prospector and dealer for two decades, and cannot remember the last time a nugget over 100 ounces (2.8kg) has been found locally.

"It’s extremely significant as a mineral specimen. We are 162 years into a gold rush and Ballarat is still producing nuggets - it’s unheard of."

2012 8 Coin Gold Proof Year Set – Mini Money Circulating Designs

2012-12-06T16:03:00.001-08:00

2012 8 Coin Gold Proof Year Set – Mini Money Circulating Designs

The images featured on Australia's first decimal coins are as familiar to Australians as they are intriguing and world renowned. This coin set features the one cent, two cent, five cent, ten cent, twenty cent, round fifty cent, one dollar and two dollar coins all the same size and in one collection. This collection is unique as these are some of the smallest coins we have ever made at the Royal Australian Mint. Struck in 99.99 percent gold, these designs created by Stuart Devlin beautifully highlight Australia as a unique and inimitable country.

This unique eight coin set is presented in a wooden case with each of the coins individually removable from case.

This set is a highly affordable way to acquire a full set of Australia’s circulating coin designs in gold, with its uniqueness being an important part of this collection.

Metal	Diameter	Mass	Finish	Mintage
99.99% Au	11.15	0.5g	Proof	2000