Gold and silver shares climbed alongside precious metals on Tuesday, with the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) rising 1.1% to 194.12 in late morning trading.
The XAU opened with a fractional advance, but extended its rally as gold bullion jumped above $1,500 per ounce and silver rebounded toward $34 per ounce. Among gold producers, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) and Newmont Mining (NEM) rose 3.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
Pan American Silver (PAAS) and Silver Wheaton (SLW), two of the largest silver companies in the world, climbed 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
One precious metals company that did not move higher, however, was Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM). Yesterday after the market close, the Canadian-based gold miner provided an update on its Meadowbank mine and Meliadine project, both located in Nunavut, ahead of an analyst mine tour scheduled for today. Agnico-Eagle also announced that gold production for the first half of 2011 is expected to be 490,000 ounces at total cash costs of $540-$570 per ounce.
The updated production guidance disappointed investors, which sent shares of AEM lower by $1.36, or 2.1%, to $63.65 this morning. Following the announcement, TD Securities lowered its full-year 2011 gold production estimate to 1.086 million ounces, down from 1.120 million ounces, and raised its cash cost estimate to $497 from $409 per ounce. However, the firm maintained its “Hold” rating on AEM and $77 price target.
Alacer Reports High-Grade Results at Çöpler
Alacer Gold (ASR.TSX) announced ongoing results from the 2011 exploration program at its Çöpler Gold Project, located in the eastern part of central Turkey. The company reported that new drilling has identified significant thick high grade sulfide mineralization from outside the recently released resource upgrade. Results included 117m at 2.0 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 69m at 3.0g/t and 78.8m at 2.8g/t, illustrating that the new drill program is successfully meeting the objectives of growing the resource base and mine life at Çöpler. Read the Full Press Release.
* Results indicated the discovery of a significant new ore position at the south end of Main Zone.
* Multiple new intersections are expected to add substantial ounces to the current Çöpler sulfide resource.
* A significant infill drill program has commenced on the Main Zone as part of the Çöpler sulfide feasibility study.
