Despite gold prices tumbling more than US$10 per oz. over the period, the U.S.-listed gold miners managed to hang on and end the week in positive territory.
Among the gold majors: Newmont Mining jumped $1.35, to finish at US$31.50; AngloGold added $1.14 to US$30.36; Durban Deep eased up 1 to US$2.43; Harmony Gold slipped 4 to US$12.94; Royal Gold rebounded 92 to US$20.67; and Ashanti Goldfields edged up 20 to US$7.70.
Gold Fields took a big step toward meeting its new racial quotas in South Africa by agreeing to sell a 15% stake in its local mining assets to the black economic empowerment company Mvelaphanda Resources. In return, Gold Fields will recieve R4.1 billion in cash. The major now faces the requirement that 26% of its South African mining assets be in black hands within 10 years. Gold Fields was up 31 over the period to US$11.55.
Compania de Minas Buenaventura rose 72 to US$30.08 as Merrill Lynch slashed its beneficial holdings in the Peruvian gold miner to 2.7 million shares, or 2%, from 7.5 million at the end of 2002.
In the base metal sector, Alcoa moved ahead 88 to US$25.95 after announcing that U.S.-based Bechtel Group and an Icelandic engineering consortium HRV would design and build its $1-billion primary aluminum plant in eastern Iceland. In addition, Alcoa will sell its polyethylene thereftalate packaging business in South America to Amcor PET Packaging.
The rest of the majors were in the black, led by Phelps Dodge which advanced 27 to US$37.61.
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