AXG - Antipodes Gold [formerly GEL - Glass Earth]

[elZorro]

A followup from the Newmont side: to inform the public what's going on, they have this info in NZResources:

25/2/2015 — Gold
Newmont outlines Waihi West role

The North Island’s sole major hard rock gold miner, Newmont Waihi Gold said that with closure of the Martha open pit scheduled to occur next year, and the new Correnso underground mine having a known resource for only a few years, it makes sense for the company to advance a regional joint venture in the area.
Newmont Waihi Gold (NWG) is a subsidiary of global gold miner Newmont Mining Corporation.
The company has now earned a 50% stake in the Waihi West property of Antipodes Gold Ltd (TSX-V & NZAX: AXG).
This property is adjacent to NWG’s Martha open cut which has been the biggest historic gold producer on the North Island, and it is also adjacent to NWG’s recently completed Trio underground mine.
“What this means is that we have been funding and conducting the exploration work on and off since 2006, and this has now earned us a half share of the prospect and formalised the joint venture,” said NWG’s external affairs coordinator Kit Wilson.
Wilson says this type of arrangement was normal in the mining industry where junior exploration companies such as Antipodes may hold a tenement and the right to explore or prospect in the area, but they do not have the financial backing to be able to conduct all the work.
Newmont has the same joint venture agreement with Antipodes Gold at the Wharekirauponga (WKP) tenement on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Kit Wilson said Newmont was currently conducting exploration drilling from the closed Trio mine under residential areas to the south-west in the Antipodes Gold tenement, and from inside the Martha open pit under farmland to the north-west in a tenement held by Newmont.
“We have always said that we would like to be here for the long term. We also have always said that just because we are drilling in an area this does not mean that mining will follow. As an example, in the last three decades we have drilled just over 300 kilometres of core and developed just three mines. That’s enough drill core to stretch from Waihi to Coromandel town three times over.”

Last I heard, the exploration dept at Newmont Waihi Gold had been severely reduced. They would still be able to use local drilling rig contractors to perform some drills from discreet sites, and this seems to be what they have done.

Coincidentally, the Antipodes Gold website was unavailable last night, and is still down. Getting a makeover?
Edit: no link to www.antipodesgold.com. Try www.antipodesgold.co.nz (that works). Not a free website anymore..



Now I'm wondering that if Newmont is the third party looking over AXG, although at current share prices it could be anyone, their main interest could be that permit under part of Waihi Town. Yet there has been virtually nothing mentioned about this permit by GEL or AXG for years. Originally there was some mention of the aeromagnetic data in the area suggesting that there could be known gold veins from the east of the site extending into the permit. GEL were never allowed to make much noise about the permit, a directive from their JV partner. It has always been effectively in Newmont's control.

From 2013: Newmont announced they were having a quiet look.

http://www.newmont.com/files/doc_dow...est-200513.pdf