AXG - Antipodes Gold [formerly GEL - Glass Earth]

[elZorro]

The NZPAM site shows some recent applications granted: Glass Earth has dropped permit EP40818, around the Karangahake Gorge area.

More interesting: Waihi Gold Company (Newmont) has been approved to hold prospecting permit PP53325 for two years. This wraps around the seaside holiday destination of Whitianga, further up the Coromandel Peninsular. Brave step that -'just looking thanks'. Isn't there a private kiwi recovery programme up there? But this must be the peninsular area Newmont have been hinting at.

The other map shows the extent of mineral permits around the area north of Waihi -all ground taken-, while across to the other side are coal and gravel permits around Huntly.

Just out on the TSX, a press release from GEL: the first assay from Muirs is out, the latest batch of diamond drilling. Some gold was as shallow as 5-7 metres down. The grade is generally low (good enough for opencast?), but patches of 1oz/tonne have also been found at shallow depths. I think this area is in a small valley, it's rolling to steep country with pasture and low bush on the site, but nearby are kiwifruit orchards, closer to Te Puke. At least the site is not right beside a township, like the Martha Mine, and there is a passable road to it. See earlier posts with a satellite map etc.

A drive down No.4 Road, out the back of Te Puke, will take you to the drill area.

Here are the two image files from the news release: an out-of-date total permit map, and the Muirs satellite detail.

TSX shares went up nearly 16% to CAD 29.5c, but someone quite big has been selling for a few days over there, looks like they've finished for the moment.

Also in the press release:

In the Otago Region - The drilling of highly ranked Hindon and Game Hen gold targets has commenced.

Now that could also be great news soon, let's hope it's not like Serpentine, where we have never been informed what happened there.

Good news (or maybe bad news) for HGD holders: the NZPAM overall map for permits near the Talisman mine clearly shows a brown area that is newly released GEL permits. Either not too prospective, or GEL decided to put its resources elsewhere perhaps.

[elZorro]

You know what? I hate loose ends. That's why I'm quite pleased that, finally, some drilling is going on at Game Hen in Otago. It's all in the latest news release.

Here's another timeline. We shareholders have to be patient, that's for sure.

1^st April 2008 (NZPAM article)
Similar ground mapping and soil/rock chip sampling is being carried out over the Gold and Pine targets (adjacent to the historic Gabriel's Gully site of the original gold discovery in Otago which began the 1860s gold rush) and Game Hen (adjacent to historic Hindon Gold workings) where targets are being prioritised by the coincidence of magnetic/EM identified shears, and surface gold anomalism.

August 22 2008
The drill rig will move to Game Hen (Hindon, central Otago) following the Sheep Wash drilling, where in-situ rock chips from Glass Earth mapping returned grab rock chip assays up to 44gm/t gold. Drilling of the Serpentine prospect is anticipated to follow this programme as spring clears access to this area.


May 2010:
Serpentine (GEG 90%)
A 12 hole program is planned to test a 12 km long shear zone, in a 1.5 km zone with gold in soils up to 1500ppb Gold, and rock chips ranging from 2 -- 30 g/t gold.

Game Hen / Hindon (GEG 90%)
A 12 hole program is scheduled to test a 12 m wide quartz shear, and co-incident carbonaceous shear, with individual rock chips in the 7-40 g/t gold range.


July 7 2011:
Otago Region –Field programmes to support the drilling of highly ranked Game Hen gold target is underway.

Jan 26th 2012:
The drilling of highly ranked Hindon and Game Hen gold targets has commenced.

[troyvdh]

...you are a gem...no doubt...keep it up...cheers troy....may karma prevail...

[elZorro]

...you are a gem...no doubt...keep it up...cheers troy....may karma prevail...

Thanks Troy, I'm a great believer in Karma. Generally the harder you work, the luckier you get

I've been thinking that until the TSX price matches up with NZ again, it might be a good time to buy some more GEL, but over on their exchange. What is a fair price to pay for this undoubtedly speculative share? I have totalled up some optimistic valuations already, but the gold-in-ground is only based on crude estimates, and in some cases, on hope. Plus, it's not that close to being mined yet. The current massive jump in US$gold on the back of a slumping US$ gives some cause for optimism in gold shares in general. There is no doubt that should GEL manage to interest a JV or farm-in partner to run a mine operation, it will become a multi-bagger. I don't follow many junior explorers, but it seems to me that GEL has a good chance of getting to this stage, because they have plenty of options and permits.

Back to the current price. 3-4 years ago Herbert Abramson, Chairman of the executive committee of St Andrews Gold, Canada (TSX:SAS) purchased for himself as an investment (from SAS), 9.4mill GEL shares for CAN 11c. After the 1 for 5 share consolidation he would have had 1.88million shares, each costing CAN 55c . SAS was partially divesting itself of non-core investments, and GEL was one of those. Herbert Abramson is also Chairman of Trapeze Asset Management, a firm that includes two other family members, according to their website. They invest for institutions and high net worth individuals, and are keen on small-cap shares. Their last report: (Note SAS is a recommendation).

As at January 2010, Herbert Abramson still held 13.66% of GEL, but there has been little mention of the largest single shareholder since. The last capital raising for new shares (just a few months ago) was coincidentally at CAN 55c, and over 2million shares were sold last week for CAN 25c. This points to the speculative nature of holding shares in GEL. But in just the few years since 2006, some will have made multi-bagger returns with GEL, if they had their timing right. At about CAN 55c, the Mcap for GEL would reflect the capital that has gone in for exploration, and demonstrate that this was not burned up, but has held its value in terms of IP in the permits and JVs. It doesn't yet reflect any valuation of gold-in-ground, but then no qualified valuations have been published.

Here's the website for SAS, the directors page. Two gentlemen are of interest, Herbert Abramson and Paul C Jones. Paul Jones lives in Colorado, is a mining engineer, and has been an advisor to many firms like GEL. He is currently one of four board members at Glass Earth, the only one who lives outside NZ, and that will be useful. I would expect he is also looking after the interests of Mr Abramson and/or SAS. The fee for being a board member is around C$10,000 a year, so he won't be putting all his time into it. In mid 2011 Glass Earth revamped their website, using the same website developers as SAS. The SAS shareprice has been on a steady decline for 12 months (after peaking strongly in August 2010), they are a smaller producer of 100,000 oz/year, from three mines on one property. MCap about CAN 165mill, has been 4x higher.

It might help with investing decisions, if we knew more about the current major investors in GEL. The presentation that was out in Sept 2011 is the latest data, and shows GEL at a peak. Total shares issued now total 66 million odd. This page shows the main shareholders, which implies Herbert Abramson has brought his personal shares into Trapeze Asset Management's fold.

Of the other major investors, Auriferous Mining Ltd is a private company which owns L&M Mining, and this firm leased the 40 tonne GEL/Dunstan Mining GRU#1 at Earnscleugh for a year or two. GEL is now using it at Drybread for its own placer work. Having them as shareholders is another good sign, surely they'll know what's going on. GEL's placer results will also get a boost with the big GRU in action.

[elZorro]

"Woolwhich International Holdings Limited" is possibly the second biggest shareholder in GEL after Trapeze Asset Management (TAM have about 13%). I think there has been a spelling mistake in the name in these reports, it should be Woolwich. This appears to be a secretive UK company, very little data on the web. It might be linked to Barclays Bank, who bought out Woolwich Equitable Building Society when it demutualised to become a bank, and retained Woolwich as a brand.

Here's an interesting page on insider transactions for GEL, in which Woolwich are listed as having over 10% of the shares. http://www.investorpoint.com/stock/G...s/All%20Types/

Based on the 1 for 5 dilution figures of shares relinquished, WIHL might have about 4,124,00 shares, plus another 3,333,300, or about 11.2% of the company.

Alton Drilling are working in two areas for Glass Earth - Muirs and Otago. http://www.altondrilling.co.nz/current_projects.html

Boart Longyear are one drilling contractor that Newmont uses frequently, they might be drilling at WKP. Newmont exploration video.

Here's a 2010 factsheet from Newmont, some snippets below.

Newmont Waihi Mines: 2009 revenue is over $4 million each week

Approximate production figures: 2006 2007 2008 2009
Gold Poured 129,654 oz 84,815 oz 144,428 oz 133,554 oz
Silver Poured 847,019 oz 276,709 oz 567,990 oz 448,886 oz
Gold Revenue $111M $88M $176M $184M
Silver Revenue $15M $6M $12M $10M
Total Revenue(NZD) $126M $94M $188M $194M
Average grades from Martha open pit – 3.4gm/tonne gold, 30gm/tonne silver.Average grades from Favona underground – 10gm/tonne gold, 30gm/tonne silver.

Approximately 350 direct on-site employees – Newmont, Macmahons, HWE, Boart Longyear. Approximately 370 employed indirectly (full time equivalent) in downstream occupations.

2010: Exploration drilling is taking place in and around Waihi and at Onemana. Diamond drills extract core samplesfor analysis. Drill core is 5 – 9 cm diameter. A drill site uses approximately 10m x 10m area. All drill sites arerehabilitated. Newmont's interest is in high grade deposits in low-value conservation localities that can be mined by smallfootprint underground methods. Ore would be transported to Waihi for processing at existing facility.The RMA consultation process is rigorous and transparent and will be in place for any consent applications.

FAQs
4. If the gold price goes down will you leave town?Not necessarily – projects are determined by taking a three year rolling average of the gold price to protectagainst the highs and lows of the gold price fluctuation. If however the gold price was to drop dramaticallywhereby costs exceed income then, like any business our future would be examined.

11. How much gold does Waihi produce yearly?Average over 20+ years is approx ��100,000 oz au (4 tonnes) 750,000 oz ag (30 tonnes)

12. How much has Martha produced over its lifetime?Since 1987 2Moz au (>50 tonnes) 15Moz ag (��400 tonnes)1880s – 1952 5.6Moz au (��200 tones) 38.4M oz ag (>1,000 tonnes)2008 was the 20th anniversary of the first gold pour and the year when the 2 millionth ounce of gold waspoured by the current operation.

13. How does that compare to world output?Global production ��2,500 tonnes/yrMartha @ 4 tonnes ��0.2% (NZ total ��0.5%)Gold is NZ’s second highest-value export to AustraliaStatistics NZ states: “Australia is New Zealand’s largest export market by region, and accounted for $6.3 billionor 19 percent of all merchandise exports in 2002. These exports to Australia have grown, on average, 9percent per year since 1999. Significant exports to Australia include machinery and equipment ($645 million),mineral fuels, mineral oils and products ($493 million), and logs, wood and wood articles ($353 million).”

14. Is gold becoming scarce?Gold is rare; only about 140,000 tonnes has been mined throughout mankind’s history.Because gold is rare, it is difficult to find and current demand outstrips production rate. So in terms of meetingcurrent demand, gold is becoming scarce.All the gold ever produced is still with us. 3,800 tonnes/yr is consumed globally.

15. Why is there so much interest and why has the price risen so much in the last few years?Gold is a tangible security that people turn to in times of high inflation and geopolitical unrest.Most investment and pensioner funds now include gold as a component of their portfolios.A rising middle class in India and China has increased jewellery demand.[QUOTE]There are increased technological uses in this electronic age.And within the last couple of years, it has become possible for individuals like you and me to sit at theircomputers and buy and sell gold, which alone has increased investment demand by around 500 tonnes/yr;that’s a 20% increase.Current rate of supply can’t keep pace with demand, pushing up prices.

16...Why is it so expensive when gold basically has only intrinsic value?Gold’s intrinsic value comes from its beauty, its rarity, its permanence; humans seem to have a strong affinityto gold. But its special qualities mean that it also has a practical value. For example it is one of the bestconductors of electricity and heat, and doesn’t tarnish or corrode, and it’s totally recyclable.Like all commodities, gold’s value increases when demand exceeds supply, which is the current situation.

21. What's the outlook for gold mining in New Zealand for the future?Newmont is actively trying to grow its gold assets in NZ, which can be demonstrated by:��Our investment in Favona and Trio��Currently we are budgeted to spend up to $NZ9M on exploration in NZ.��Newmont is actively seeking other growth opportunities. Recently Newmont entered into a joint venture with Glass Earth to jointly develop one of their properties.

Article in Christchurch Press re overseas companies investing in NZ
RC’s comment re the article below:
It’s a good article. 2009 is an even better story. $0 dividends paid. Instead all money was retained to invest infuture projects in NZ. One thing the article fails to mention is the $39million of capital expenditure on top of the operating expenditure quoted. This brings the “outgoings” before tax to about 75% (article quotes 55%). Also the royalty in 2008 ended up being revised upwards from $1.1m to $2.1m after the accounting profit calculation (done in 2009)

The silly belief that overseas-owned companies send all their profits overseas has bubbled away in the background for decades.

Among some, it's a mantra and regularly gets hauled into the overseas ownership debate, especially when a contentious issue like mining arises. Those who are currently braying the mantra betray a fundamental, if not disturbing, misunderstanding of what a trading entity does with its dollars.The silly belief is easy to refute simply by looking at the dollars, and where they go. In New Zealand, thankfully, an overseas-owned company must file its annual accounts with the Companies Office.

One such firm is Newmont Waihi Gold, owner and operator of the gold mine at Martha Hill which is beneficially owned in the United States. The latest available audited accounts (2008) tell us Newmont's total revenue from running its mine was $188.11 million. Out of that sum and like any business, Newmont had some rather large bills to pay. Its wage bill was $10.69m (5.6 per cent of trading revenue). Many of its employees live in Waihi and so presumably spend some of their wages in the town. On the wages front too, the company spent another $32.8m (17 per cent) with various contractors to mine and drill the ore. The firm also had to buy raw materials and consumables to keep the mine running and probably to process the ore into gold. They cost $26.8m (14 per cent) and repairs and maintenance another $7.12m (3 per cent).

With these and other items, the cash paid out to run the operation was $105m, including a $1.1m royalty payment directly to the Government. From its trading turnover of $188.11m, Newmont therefore paid a total of 55 per cent into its local and wider New Zealand community.The mine's operating expenses totalled $144m (including the accounting mysteries of depreciation and amortisation). This gave a profit before tax of $44.57m, on which $13.3m in income tax was paid leaving the owners with $31m in tax-paid profit. So, what happened to the profits around which is wrapped the mantra we started with? From the $31m tax-paid profit available, the company sent its US owners $11.7m (37 per cent) by way of a dividend. That left $19.56m in the business. But before that happened about $105m in cash was distributed locally. Elsewhere in the accounts it is stated that a total of$33.45m is pledged by the company by way of rehabilitation bonds when mining finishes at the site.

This 100 per cent overseas- owned company therefore spends a great deal in New Zealand. It pays wages in New Zealand, pays a royalty in New Zealand, pays income tax in New Zealand, and posts rehabilitation bonds in New Zealand. Overseas-owned Newmont Waihi sent not all of its profits overseas: just 6 per cent of the mine's income was paid individends to its American owners, which was just 37 per cent of its after-tax earnings.

The debate about mining should be an informed one. To have that debate, we need facts, not mantras.

* Chris Rennie is a partner in Carter Price Rennie Ltd. He cheerfully toils in the vineyards of capitalism, including thoseof overseas-owned companies. There are no specific client interests in the article.--------------------The Press, Copyright of Fairfax New Zealand Limited 2009, All rights reserved.Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

[elZorro]

This is an old article, but worth having a look at again. NZ$20 billion of gold is a figure that might have been put forward by Mr Dow, the Chairman. This lines up with 10Moz, the same size as the Martha deposit 10 km away. It's also interesting that Simon Henderson suggested that it should suit underground mining, and that's exactly what Newmont are looking for.

$20b potential for Coromandel gold deposit
| Liam Baldwin | Tuesday July 13, 2010

Gold deposits potentially worth $20 billion have been confirmed 10km north of the Martha mine in Waihi on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Prospecting company Glass Earth Gold confirmed this morning “significant results” from its drilling at its WKP gold-silver prospect, which is an exploratory joint venture with Newmont Mining Corporation. Three holes drilled by the company since March confirmed the presence of gold beyond what was already known at the WKP site.

Glass Earth Gold president and chief executive Simon Henderson said the companies are encouraged by the results and are confident that the exploration phase of the venture will provide substantial insight into the characteristics of the new zone and the overall area. “The results are very compelling,” he said.

The WKP prospect is a 2km mineralised zone which is 5km north-east of the Golden Cross deposed, which produced 634,000 oz of gold in the 1990s.
In a statement this morning, Mr Henderson said the WKP system has characteristics similar to the Martha mine and has strike potential for several kilometres southward.
Martha has produced eight million ounces of gold and between 40 and 50 million ounces of silver with estimated reserves of another 1.5 million ounces of gold.
Exploration in the late 1980s and early 1990s identified potential in the area.

Mr Henderson said much more groundwork was required and more holes will be drilled over the coming months to confirm the deposit’s full potential.
He said while it was difficult to speculate at an early stage, the mineralisation of the area suggested an underground mine would be appropriate, but more data was required.
The prospecting is occurring on land held by the Department of Conservation.

[elZorro]

When the next quarterly report comes out late in February, we should hear about DryBread, where I'd guess the big GRU#1 is being used. L&M Mining used this GRU at Earnscleugh, and here's a powerpoint presentation of it in use. http://www.lmgroup.net.nz/gold2pp.html There are some great numbers to have a look at. The ideal feed rate is about 60 m3/hr, which is about 100 tonne/hr. But on average (the site worked 24/7 under lights) the feed rate was about 45 tonne/hr, 5000m3 a week. If they were able to take out 100,000 oz in 7 years using that GRU, that's about 40oz a day, a grade of about 1.2 g/tonne. While there is a much bigger GRU there now, it's possible Dunstan/GEL's GRU#1 can process 1000 tonne/day and recover 40 ounces, or about NZ$100,000 worth a day..but it will need good grades of 1g/tonne or so.

[Vtrader]

eZ,
Enough attraction to GEL, Vtrader is poised to do as advised.
Been watching, and something tells me it is time...
Making end of day trades at present, so if you want any before me get it at open!
V.

[bermuda]

eZ,
Enough attraction to GEL, Vtrader is poised to do as advised.
Been watching, and something tells me it is time...
Making end of day trades at present, so if you want any before me get it at open!
V.

EZ,
You are the man on this thread. You have recognised where this is going and have made the effort to put it in front of our faces. I do try and understand some of your technical stuff. I just go for the signals and if it feels good I go through a big checklist. Plus if I get a tip like this then I am in.
To be honest this is the only gold stock I own.

I was given this by a guy who is an unbelievable Guru having always learnt from his odd failures. This guy is very experienced. He is hot on GEL. And DIL and OYM. I only own GEL but I do have GEL and DIL in the NZ competition. GEL suffered a bit today. ......Rome wasn't built in a day.

Been an exciting week. I must be MAD. What a little beauty. This is what we work for.

Thanks for your posts. Something must happen here.

[elZorro]

EZ,
You are the man on this thread. You have recognised where this is going and have made the effort to put it in front of our faces. I do try and understand some of your technical stuff. I just go for the signals and if it feels good I go through a big checklist. Plus if I get a tip like this then I am in.
To be honest this is the only gold stock I own.

I was given this by a guy who is an unbelievable Guru having always learnt from his odd failures. This guy is very experienced. He is hot on GEL. And DIL and OYM. I only own GEL but I do have GEL and DIL in the NZ competition. GEL suffered a bit today. ......Rome wasn't built in a day.

Been an exciting week. I must be MAD. What a little beauty. This is what we work for.

Thanks for your posts. Something must happen here.

Gidday Bermuda, a bit of a drop over here was predictable, as the TSX side is not very interested at the moment, must be other stuff going on to interest the punters, and some GEL holders short of cash. When the exchanges match each other, it should be about time for more news releases. I see what you mean about DIL, that's impressive, but now a high P/E ratio, can it keep going from here?

On the other hand, GEL still has a very low Mcap for an outfit that might be mining big-time in future. On the not-too-technical? side, the GRU at Earnscleugh needed 15 staff (rotated?) and there were several metres of overburden to remove. Lots of diesel etc, cleaning up afterwards. So if the bigger L&M GRU was needed to make a useful profit (not just a working trial), the grade there might have been below 1g/tonne. It's to be hoped that GEL has a site(s) with free alluvial gold content around 1g/tonne or better, it's relatively easy to get at, and there's a big amount of it.

ODT wrote up the press release. $357,000 of alluvial gold (total turnover?) in 2010.