Wall Street ends in the red, Sept. 6-9

U.S. equities slipped in September, as higher oil prices failed to offset investor concerns over the Federal Reserve’s next move. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.2% to finish at 18,085.45. The S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index both fell 2.4% to 2,127.81 and 5,125.91. Spot gold edged up 0.2% to US$1,327.80 per oz., while oil crude futures rose 2.3% to US$45.88 per barrel.

Alamos Gold shares added US10¢ to close at US$7.88, ahead of reporting an updated resource estimate on Sept. 12 for the La Yaqui project near its Mulatos gold mine in Mexico. As of Sept. 1, combined gold resources grew 93% — or 215,000 oz. to 447,000 oz. — after eight months of drilling. The update includes 149,000 indicated oz. (4.1 million tonnes at 1.14 grams gold per tonne) and 298,000 inferred oz. (5.5 million tonnes at 1.68 grams gold). Reserves remain at 89,000 oz. (1.9 million tonnes at 1.45 grams). Phase-one development is on track, with initial production expected in mid-2017. Given the exploration success, Alamos has deferred the submission of the project’s environmental impact assessment. It has eight rigs turning on La Yaqui, with another 10,000 metres planned for 2016.

Eldorado Gold shares ended at US$3.50, up US10¢. On Sept. 6, the company sold its 82% interest in the Jinfeng mine to a subsidiary of China National Gold Group for US$300 million in cash. Eldorado expects that the previously announced sale of its interest in the White Mountain and Tanjianshan mines and the Eastern Dragon development project will close in the fourth quarter. The company entered an agreement with an affiliate of Yintai Resources Co. in May to sell the interest in its three remaining Chinese assets for US$600 million in cash.

A day later, Eldorado released an update on its operations. In Turkey, it plans to go ahead with a two-year, US$63-million expansion at the Kisladag mine, where it intends to crush 20 million tonnes a year, up from the current 12.5 million tonnes a year.

In Greece, it is targeting production from phase two of the Olympias mine in early 2017, and plans to develop the Skouries project in two phases.

Its Tocantinzinho project in Brazil could deliver 170,000 oz. gold a year, with first production in 2019. Conditional on the board’s approval, construction for the estimated $464-million project could start next year.