Gold shares held near unchanged on Thursday, as the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) inched higher by 0.1% to 219.30 in late morning trading.
Gold companies in the news included Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX), which reported second quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Freeport earned $1.43 per share, above the $1.33 consensus estimate among Wall Street analysts, and more than twice the $0.70 per share earned in the second quarter of 2010.
A significant reason for the improved bottom line was higher copper and gold prices, as Freeport-McMoRan is the world’s largest publicly traded copper company and a significant gold producer.
James R. Moffett, Chairman, and Richard C. Adkerson, President and CEO, commented that “Our second-quarter results reflect strong operating performance and favorable pricing for our products. FCX’s global team continues to execute our operating plans in an impressive fashion, producing significant quantities of copper, gold and molybdenum to meet growing global demand.”
Despite the earnings beat, FCX slid $0.35, or 0.6%, to $55.57 per share. FCX was dragged down by modest losses in copper, which fell $0.02 to $4.42 per pound, and gold, which dipped $2.24 to $1,598.46 per ounce.
Notable gold miners moving higher included Barrick Gold (ABX), Newmont Mining (NEM), and Yamana Gold (AUY). ABX, NEM, and AUY advanced 1.0%, 1.3%, 0.8%, respectively.
San Gold Posts Record Gold Production
San Gold (SGR.TSX) reported record quarterly gold production of 20,055 ounces of gold at a cash operating cost expected to be below the company's full-year guidance of $825 per ounce of gold sold. The Canadian-based gold miner noted that year-to-date production of 34,743 ounces is consistent with the Company's full-year production estimate of 80,000 ounces.
Gold production in the second quarter of 2011 benefited from approximately 80% of the milled tonnage being sourced from the generally lower cost and higher grade Hinge and 007 mines. San Gold noted that the Hinge and 007 mines are expected to continue to be the primary source of ore at the Company's Rice Lake Mill for the foreseeable future. Full San Gold Press Release.
Gold production in the second quarter of 2011 benefited from approximately 80% of the milled tonnage being sourced from the generally lower cost and higher grade Hinge and 007 mines. San Gold noted that the Hinge and 007 mines are expected to continue to be the primary source of ore at the Company's Rice Lake Mill for the foreseeable future. Full San Gold Press Release.
SAN GOLD HIGHLIGHTS:
* Gold production increased 118% over the second quarter of 2010 and 37% over the first quarter of 2011.
* Production in the first half of 2011 represented a 61% rise over first half 2010 gold production.
* Financials are set to be released on August 15th.
GEORGE PIRIE, PRESIDENT & CEO:
“I am very pleased with this quarter's operating results as they demonstrate that we continue to execute on our plan of growing the production profile and lowering the cost profile of the Rice Lake Project. In addition, we continue our aggressive exploration program, which is designed to significantly grow our mineral resource base."
PAOLO LOSTRITTO, WELLINGTON WEST:
“San Gold pre-released production data for Q2/11 well ahead of our expectations. Production came in at 20,055 oz and beat our estimate for 18,461 oz. This should be sufficient to push SGR into the black this quarter."
SAN GOLD PRODUCTION
INTERACTIVE SAN GOLD NEWS RELEASES
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