Gold majors sink as bullion retreats

As gold slipped back below US$320 per oz., the major U.S.-listed gold companies all saw steep selloffs during the period ended June 11: Newmont Mining plummeted $2.56 to US$29; AngloGold fell back $3.95 to US$29.40; Gold Fields dropped $1.59 to US$12.48; Harmony Gold sank $2.53 to US$14.38; and Compania de Minas Buenaventura gave up $3.83 to reach US$26.27.

Durban Deep fell $1.07 to US$4.52 as it began proceedings to prosecute a former director and related parties involved in using Durban’s cash to buy shares in Australia’s Continental Goldfields at an outrageous premium. Durban CEO Mark Wellesley-Wood said “we believe the defendants were party to a transaction whereby Durban Deep agreed to pay more than six times the market value for shares that it did not want.”

Ashanti Goldfields crashed $1 to US$5.32 as the Financial Times revealed that 32%-owner Lonmin is suggesting a last-minute equity injection of roughly US$75 million as an alternative to a restructuring plan that’s already on the table.

Stillwater Mining fell $1.09 to US$15.41 as it reached an agreement with federal regulators on its reserve base, which was recalculated 10% lower to 25 million oz. of combined platinum and palladium.

Turning to base metals, Phelps Dodge raised US$600 million in a bought deal with JP Morgan, whereby the copper major sold 10 million common shares and 2 million convertible preferred shares that will be traded in New York under the ticker PD.PrA. Phelps Dodge’s shares fell $1.02 on the week to US$37.98.

Elsewhere in the sector: Alcoa fell another $2.04 to US$31.38; BHP-Billiton slipped 32 to US$11.70; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold dropped $1.39 to US$18.50; Rio Tinto rose $2.38 to US$79.13; and Anglo American retreated 40 to US$18.03.