AXG - Antipodes Gold [formerly GEL - Glass Earth]

[elZorro]

From NZResources today, a little bit of hope for GEL holders.

Newmont Waihi indicates no redundancies plan

1 July 2013
A carefully worded statement by Newmont Waihi Gold in its community newsletter for people in the Waihi district made it clear it has not made any reduction in staff numbers as it works towards extending mine life at operations in the district.

The company said some on-site contractors have reduced numbers “for operational reasons as work in particular areas has come to an end.”
The report said parent Newmont Mining Corporation had recently announced a round of redundancies in head office in Denver in the United States and at the regional office in Perth in an effort to contain costs brought about by operating costs and the significant slide in the gold price.

Newmont Waihi Gold has operated mining operations in Waihi since acquiring Australian company Normandy Mining and for many years the Martha open cut mine was the flagship.

It has just completed mining of the Favona underground mine and has opened the nearby Trio underground mine and is moving to develop the Correnso underground mine.

A key exploration project for Newmont Waihi Gold is the WKP project, a joint venture in the Waihi district that it manages with Glass Earth Gold Ltd (TSX-V & NZAX: GEL).

Here is the link to the one-page pdf put out by Newmont Waihi Gold. http://www.waihigold.co.nz/assets/up...date270613.pdf

No mention of WKP there at all. So the reporter, or writer of the NZResources article, wrote the last line. As far as I know, Newmont have never publicly admitted that WKP is a "key exploration project". Which begs the question, is it, or isn't it? Is the reporter sure about that?

[elZorro]

Another old NZResources article about this area: Newmont may be conscious that underground mining is a lot more palatable in the conservation estate. The WKP area is in this category. Hence the diamond drilling at WKP really needs to be finding some good bonanza-style intercepts. Note to management: might need a few more drills up there, to increase the odds.

Newmont makes some points on Schedule 4

Ross Louthean — 15 March 2010
The North Island’s only major gold miner, Newmont Waihi Gold, says that the proposed issues on the Key Government opening up part of the national estate for exploration evaluation does not alter the way in which the company already operates.

In its Waihi Gold Update newsletter the company which mines both underground and open cut ore at Waihi, said consent documents and negotiations it has undertaken over the years already illustrate how sensitive issues on conservation values can be handled.

“Newmont has a 20 year track record of working with communities in Waihi and more recently in regional exploration works undertaken in Onemana and Opoutere,” the company said.

“As with any issue, we encourage agencies or individuals with concerns to discuss them with us directly.”

The company said its interest is in high-grade deposits in relatively low-value conservation localities that can be mined by small footprint underground methods.

The newsletter said the Green Line on all conservation land north of the Kopu-Hikuai Road and the entire foreshore on the Coromandel Peninsula was now in the proposed Schedule 4 debate.

“As such, the peninsula is open to underground mining now, or surface mining on privately owned land.

When the Green Line was put in place some environmental groups “incorrectly” claimed to have succeeded in having stopped all mining on the Coromandel Peninsula – with the exception of current operations such as Waihi.

“The inaccurate claim has not been widely challenged.”

A government report on Schedule 4 within the Crown Minerals Act should be released this month. It identifies land administered by the Department of Conservation (DoC) currently unavailable for surface mining activity.

Also it recognises that underground mining that disturbs only small areas may be permitted providing it complies with all other applicable laws and regulations.

[elZorro]

Perhaps I should stop beating about the bush. Unless Peter Grieve was sadly mistaken in his WKP report from January 2013, the first project resource estimate for at least part of WKP, is overdue for release to shareholders.

This could be a monumental point in the life of the company. But unless Glass Earth management stick to the timelines they set for themselves, and keep all shareholders informed at each step, I'm starting to lose faith in their chances of getting anything done to add value to a crippled shareprice.

The company now has a dedicated PR person, Anne Robert. Has anything been put out publicly since? No.

[elZorro]

Two NZ mining sector lobbyists have combined: Straterra is the more recent entity but was more active. Glass Earth's Wellington office is one of a cluster of similar companies like Chatham Rock Phosphate, set up around Straterra's offices.

NZMIA merges with Straterra

Simon Hartley — 3 July 2013
The original industry voice for the New Zealand minerals sector the New Zealand Minerals Industry Association (NZMIA) has merged with the more active industry organisation Straterra.
The NZMIA was established in 1981 during a brief gold boom and later increased its size by bringing in the quarrying industry. It was originally known as the New Zealand Mineral Exploration Association
When Straterra was launched in 2008 at the annual AusIMM New Zealand Mining Conference in Wellington it prompted many in the resource sector to question the need for two agencies delivering similar messages.
Straterra'a inaugural members included mining heavyweights such as OceanaGold Corporation, State owned enterprise Solid Energy, the NZ Coal Association, Newmont Waihi Gold, Minerals West Coast and L&M Group.
The NZMIA council had included representatives from Heritage Gold NZ Ltd (now New Talisman Gold Mines Ltd), Holcim (NZ) Ltd, Winstone Aggregates, New Zealand Steel Ltd and Newmont Waihi Gold.
Straterra's membership now represents 90%, by value, of the country's mineral production, including a large share of exploration, but not representing, oil, gas and geothermal interests.
Straterra chief executive Chris Baker said the merger was an important step to consolidating the mineral industry sector into one voice to achieve more effective sector representation.
In recent years has grown in membership and also linked with the Austmine industry organisation to help operate Austmine NZ.
The veteran chief executive of NZMIA has been Douglas Gordon.
“NZMIA holds much history and knowledge, and we welcome NZMIA members into Straterra. Mining faces many challenges in New Zealand,” Chris Baker said.
It is important that we manage our scarce resources efficiently, and present our industry professionally. This agreement helps us do that,” he added.
*Simon Hartley is senior business reporter and assistant chief reporter for the Otago Daily Times.
-additional reporting by Ross Louthean.

[elZorro]

From NZResources today: there has been a small protest at the latest WKP drill site.

Watchdog blockade at Coromandel drill rig ends

Ross Louthean — 8 July 2013
Anti-mining activists withdrew over the weekend from a drilling site on the Coromandel Peninsula after occupying the site over 30 hours.
One News reported that Coromandel Watchdog activists – a hard-line group constantly wooing the media to high-drama protests against exploration and mining - had camped out on the Newmont Waihi Gold drilling rig in Parakiwai Valley, near Whangamata, preventing it from operating.
Watchdog spokeswoman Renee Annan said the group had withdrawn “after achieving its goal of shutting down operations for more than 30 hours.”
“We have achieved our purpose, which was to highlight that this area should never be mined. She claimed on television that while there would probably be underground mining planned it would still produce “toxic waste” without quantifying just what this would be – something the mining regulators would not accept.
The area concerned is not protected by Schedule Four in the Crown Minerals Act, something Ms Annan called "an accident of history".
Given the opportunity Coromandel Watchdog and other groups regular campaigns against exploration and mining - which have provided prosperity around Waihi as a contrast from other parts of the Coromandel – would want the whole of New Zealand declared under Schedule Four.
Source: tvnz.co.nz

Further South, I'm wondering what is going on down at Drybread, in a 24/7 operation now.

In the photos of the placer setup, two Knudsen bowls are shown. The recovered gold is about 50-200um wide on average, so some fine gold is lost from the first bowl, and needs a second pass.

http://www.mine.mn/Robin_Grayson_gol...y_method15.pdf

[elZorro]

Moosie, they are not trespassing, Parakiwai is DOC land, there is open track access. About 30 protesters went in according to the Watchdog site, some found the access not too easy to walk. They implied that the bush is virgin native forest, whereas I suspect it is regenerating after logging from generations ago. They also implied the rare Archey's frog is nearby, when it is not known to reside within tens of kilometres. They cleverly mention protecting the habitat for Archey's Frog - well it's not quite the same thing.

But Newmont/GEL could have put some money into rare native frog research, and headed off that debate.


http://watchdog.org.nz/

[elZorro]

The Greens have had a go at the Broken Hills Gold Mine too, on TV news last night. However, their research can easily be shown to be lacking here, on a quick inspection of the facts.

NZResources:

Small gold mine under fire from Green Party

Ross Louthean — 10 July 2013
The Green Party’s strong opposition to exploration and mining has seen it lay claims of the Government being misleading over granting extra ground to a small gold mine on the Coromandel.
Party co-leader Russell Norman told One News that the Government had broken its promise of leaving Schedule 4 land untouched and that this was a broken promise.
However the Broken Hills gold mine, a boutique operation that is a century old had been compelled by the Government to develop a second egress for its operations for safety purposes and this has meant providing an access through enveloping Schedule Four land.
A 25 year mining permit was awarded to Broken Hills Gold Mining which has been operating for 13 years and the requirement for a second egress meant it needed a full mining permit on adjacent land, some of which is Schedule Four.
Well known geoscientist Stuart Rabone who operates the mine which has been an attraction for tourists said this process was the only “practicable area where we can make a second egress that is required for safety of people in the mine.”
He told One News the company has caused no problems to anyone and that the firm has an "accident free record.”
The permit extends the amount of land it can mine from five hectares to 23 ha, with around five ha of that Schedule Four land, according to the Green Party.
Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges maintains awarding the permit has not broken the Government's promise.
“The only work that can be on Schedule Four is for health and safety purposes, there will be no mining on Schedule Four," he said.
“Effectively what was important to me was a continuation of a traditional mine.”
What is forgotten when mine safety is an issue is the fact that underground mines should provide adequate access and departure zones and the Broken Hill mine is now complying with the new safety regime sparked by the Pike River coal mine.
It should be remembered the restricted area allowed by the Department of Conservation for the Pike River mine restricted the footprint for mine development.
If Pike River mine is ever to be re-accessed – if only to recover the remains of the 29 men who died there – then the idea of being precious about land access may need to change.
Sources: tvnz.co.nz and nzresources.com files

[elZorro]

I suspect that Glass Earth has news on several fronts, but the dropping of the gold price in previous weeks has dampened junior explorer sentiment in the meantime. It's been a while since we had any news, 4-5 weeks, and that news was only to say that they have a new PR person, Anne Robert.

The ASX Gold thread has some interesting posts on why the gold price might have dropped. Anyone looking at the US PoG chart can see that large forces are at play, and I really mean play, when it comes to shorting. The most telling timelines show that when a country asks for its gold holdings back, when they are supposedly held on US soil, that spurs a frenzy of shorting of gold, started by the banks and their brokers, suggesting that gold is on the way down, and to expect far lower prices for gold. The large US banks are quite capable of leading the gold shorts, enough to trip stop-loss activity by smaller traders. http://www.mauldineconomics.com/ttmygh/what-if

Those of us investing in explorers and gold producers know the huge cost of extracting gold in the volumes that have been required in the last few years, as the easy resources get mined out. And the costs of finding them in the first place, as GEL is discovering. Approx C$45mill so far, and that really is a small amount internationally.

So here is Glass Earth, in possession by now, of an estimate for all or part of the resources at WKP, a large permissive system within 10km of the Martha Hill mine. Maybe no immediate action will take place with gold at $1250 an ounce. But based on history, gold will get back up near $2000 an ounce in the future, and will exceed that. It's a matter of seeing if inflation will outpace the price rise.

Meanwhile Germany is asking for part of its gold holdings back from the US. The US have promised to deliver the 300 tonnes within 7 years. 300 tonnes is over 10.7 Moz of gold, or all of the historical production ever taken from the internationally significant Martha Hill mine and environs.

[Manda]

There was every indication that Q1 would see a sensible placer profit, it's frustrating that the company didn't manage to capitalise on a fairly good gold price, with all the gear well established, the weather being mild. They'll be snowed in by now.

Here's the only photo shareholders have of GRU#3, I think, from the placer page on the website. I'm not sure what to make of it, is it on a pontoon or not? In the background are the Dunstan Ranges, source of the secondary alluvial gold they're picking up. GRU#3 is working the Hecklers area, close to Glassford Road.

This is not glass earths plant it was a hired plant in which they no longer have

[elZorro]

This is not glass earths plant, it was a hired plant which they no longer have

That's very interesting. Welcome to Sharetrader, by the way.

The primer red unit is loaded on the website, as GRU#3, and we've never been told otherwise. Shareholders haven't been told exactly where the placer mining is at the moment, or which GRU is being used, but the latest photos were from the Heckler's area, and GRU#1 had been on the opposite side of Glassford Road, at Morans. It's possible a GRU has been cobbled together from parts at Dunstan Mining's workshop.

Do you have any idea how things are going at Drybread?