US markets slip, Dec. 7-11

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.57% to finish the trading week at 30,046.37 and the S&P 500 declined by 0.96% to 3,663.46. Spot gold dropped US$24.50 per oz., or 1.31%, to US$1,839 per oz.

Seabridge Gold fell by US61¢ to US$17.37 per share. Seabridge announced it had successfully raised US$115.7 million, more than enough to fund the acquisition of Pretium Resources’ Snowfield property in British Columbia. “Proceeds from the financing will pay the entire US$100 million upfront cash payment payable in respect of the acquisition of the Snowfield property, the expenses related to the acquisition, with the remainder used for general working capital,” the Toronto-based miner said on Dec. 9. Snowfield, immediately adjacent to its 100%-owned KSM gold-copper project, will open up new development opportunities for its flagship asset, Seabridge said. Snowfield has measured and indicated resources of 25.92 million oz. gold and a further 9.03 million oz. gold in the inferred category, in addition to substantial copper resources.

Shares of Newmont dropped US57¢ to US$58.87 per share. The company plans to extend the life of its Peñasquito gold-silver mine in Mexico’s Zacatecas state beyond 2040 through exploration. The company said it will invest US$10 million in 2021 to develop a pipeline of new exploration targets at the mine, and drilling is also expected to help convert resources within existing pit shells to reserves, Newmont said. Peñasquito is forecast to produce 660,000 ounces of gold in 2021, up from 510,000 ounces expected for 2020, and reflects the impact of disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year’s output from the mine was also impacted by two blockades by truckers and local residents. The differences between the two parties were settled through a 30-year water supply deal with the San Juan de Cedros community, one of the mine’s 25 nearby communities. The mine is also slated to produce 30 million oz. of silver, 475 million lb. of zinc, and 190 million lb. of lead in 2021.

AngloGold Ashanti fell US64¢ to US$21.49 per share. The company announced the resignation of board chairman Sipho Pityana. Pityana will be replaced by Maria Ramos, who has been a director at the gold miner since May 2019. Most recently, Ramos served for ten years as CEO of the Absa Group, one of Africa’s largest banks, before retiring from the post in February 2019.  She also served for five years as CEO of state-owned freight transport and logistics service provider Transnet, South Africa’s largest freight transport and logistics service provider. Since Pityana became chairman in 2014, AngloGold’s debt has declined by more than 70%, its portfolio simplified through the sale of shorter-life assets, and its Obuasi gold mine in Ghana redeveloped into a modern, long-life operation, the company said.