gold prices

AURICO GOLD $4.36 (Toronto symbol AUQ; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.auricogold.com; Shares outstanding: 248.5 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) operates the El Chanate gold mine in Mexico. The company also started up its Young-Davidson gold project in northern Ontario last year. It’s now at full production. In the three months ended June 30, 2014, AuRico’s production jumped 47.2%, to 56,198 ounces from 38,186 ounces a year earlier. That increased its revenue by 31.0%, to $75.5 million from $57.7 million. Cash flow per share declined to $0.05 from $0.08. The company’s costs rose as it moved from open pit to underground mining at Young-Davidson, but they should fall as AuRico completes the mine’s new infrastructure....

AURICO GOLD $4.36 (Toronto symbol AUQ; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.auricogold.com; Shares outstanding: 248.5 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) operates the El Chanate gold mine in Mexico. The company also started up its Young-Davidson gold project in northern Ontario last year. It’s now at full production.

In the three months ended June 30, 2014, AuRico’s production jumped 47.2%, to 56,198 ounces from 38,186 ounces a year earlier. That increased its revenue by 31.0%, to $75.5 million from $57.7 million.

Cash flow per share declined to $0.05 from $0.08. The company’s costs rose as it moved from open pit to underground mining at Young-Davidson, but they should fall as AuRico completes the mine’s new infrastructure.

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Detour Gold Corp., $12.99, symbol DGC on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 157.8 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; www.detourgold.com), finished building its Detour Lake mine in northeastern Ontario in February 2013. It’s now operating at close to full production. The mine produced 232,287 ounces of gold in 2013. This year, with the project at full capacity, its output will likely rise to between 450,000 and 480,000 ounces. That should generate cash flow of $0.80 a share in 2014, and that could rise as high as $1.46 in 2015. Over the mine’s 21.5-year life, the company expects its production to average 600,000 ounces annually....

Argonaut Gold, $4.32, symbol AR on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 154.1 million; Market cap: $665.9 million; www.argonautgoldinc.com), owns 100% of the El Castillo gold mine in Durango, Mexico, and 100% of the La Colorada project in Sonora, Mexico. The company also owns the advanced-stage San Antonio project in Baja California Sur, Mexico, and the Magino project in Ontario. In late 2013, Argonaut bought the San Agustin exploration property, located 10 kilometres from El Castillo. In the three months ended June 30, 2014, the company produced 30,310 gold equivalent ounces (including gold by-products such as silver), down 12.3% from 34,572 ounces a year earlier....

IAMGOLD (Toronto symbol IMG; www.iamgold.com) owns 41% of the Sadiola mine and 40% of the Yatela mine, both located in Mali; 90% of its Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso; 100% of the Doyon mine in Quebec; and 95% of the Rosebel mine in Suriname, South America. In addition, IAMGold has a 1% royalty interest in the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories. It also owns the Niobec niobium mine in Quebec. When used as an additive, niobium makes steel stronger, more heat-resistant and easier to weld. In the three months ended March 31, 2014, IAMGold’s revenue fell 8.5%, to $279.3 million from $305.3 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share dropped to $0.17 from $0.31. The declines were mostly due to 21.2% lower gold prices and an 8.5% production decrease....

IAMGOLD $3.71 (Toronto symbol IMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-888-464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 376.6 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; No dividends paid) owns 41% of the Sadiola mine and 40% of the Yatela mine, both located in Mali; 90% of its Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso; 100% of the Doyon mine in Quebec; and 95% of the Rosebel mine in Suriname, South America.

In addition, IAMGold has a 1% royalty interest in the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories....

NEWMONT MINING $24.83 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 497.9 million; Market cap: $12.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.4%; www.newmont.com) has broken off merger talks with Barrick Gold (Toronto symbol ABX) amid reports of personality conflicts and a failure to agree on key issues such as the location of a new head office and who would lead the combined company. Both Newmont and Barrick have large mining operations in Nevada, so a merger would have let them significantly cut their operating costs. That would have helped the combined firm cope with lower gold prices. Due to weak gold and copper prices, Newmont’s earnings fell 69.4% in the first quarter of 2014, to $108 million, or $0.22 a share. A year earlier, it earned $353 million, or $0.70 a share. Revenue declined 19.4%, to $1.8 billion from $2.2 billion....

IMPERIAL METALS $14.41 (Toronto symbol III; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-669-8959; www.imperialmetals.com; Shares outstanding: 74.9 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; No dividends paid) is a Vancouver-based firm that produces and explores for base and precious metals.

Imperial’s producing assets include two B.C. mines: 100%-owned Mount Polley (copper and gold) and 50% of Huckleberry (copper and molybdenum). Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials holds 31.1% of Huckleberry, and Furukawa Co., Dowa Holdings and Marubeni Corp. own 6.3% each.

Imperial restarted Mount Polley in 2005 and continues to explore around the deposit to increase the mine’s reserves and lengthen its life. The company expects Mount Polley to produce until mid-2023.

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IAMGOLD $3.71 (Toronto symbol IMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-888-464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 376.6 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; No dividends paid) owns 41% of the Sadiola mine and 40% of the Yatela mine, both located in Mali; 90% of its Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso; 100% of the Doyon mine in Quebec; and 95% of the Rosebel mine in Suriname, South America.

In addition, IAMGold has a 1% royalty interest in the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories. It also owns the Niobec niobium mine in Quebec. When used as an additive, niobium makes steel stronger, more heat-resistant and easier to weld.

In the three months ended March 31, 2014, IAMGold’s revenue fell 8.5%, to $279.3 million from $305.3 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share dropped to $0.17 from $0.31. The declines were mostly due to 21.2% lower gold prices and an 8.5% production decrease.

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APPLE INC., $571.94, Nasdaq symbol AAPL, rose 9% this week after it announced several moves to enhance its investment appeal. These initiatives include raising its quarterly dividend by 7.9%, to $3.29 a share from $3.05. The new annual rate of $13.16 yields 2.3%. Apple also increased its share buyback program by $30 billion. It can now repurchase up to $90 billion worth of its stock by the end of 2015. That’s equal to 18% of its $492.9-billion market cap. Apple will also split its outstanding shares on a 7-for-1 basis in June 2014. In addition to making its shares more affordable, the split would make Apple a candidate for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. If Apple does join the widely followed Dow, mutual funds and exchange traded funds that mimic the index would have to buy the stock, which would push up the share price....