Miners hit by gold decline

Gold ingots are displayed at a store in Beijing, China. Gold prices are falling on global markets. Bloomberg

via CAAI

Monday, 24 January 2011 15:00 Jeremy Mullins

MOBILE phone provider Beeline’s owner Vimpelcom fell 10.3 percent in New York trading last week, as HSBC Bank downgraded the company from “overweight” to “neutral” on Monday.

The company ended Friday at US$13.76 a share, from the previous week’s close of $15.34. It traded at a 52-week high, north of $20.00, last February.

Vimpelcom also faced concerns over a potential deal from one of its shareholders last week. On Monday, following Vimplecom Ltd Board’s decision to approve Vimpelcom’s acquisition of Wind Telecom., minority shareholder Telenor ASA stated it would try to stop the acquisition from being completed.

Meanwhile, shares of several gold miners actively exploring in Cambodia fell last week. Gold prices fell to under US$1,345 on Friday, continuing three straight weeks of declines. The metal peaked at a record high of $1,432.50 on December 7, 2010.

OZ Minerals Ltd slid 3.5 percent on the Australian Securities Exchange last week, ending at A$1.67. The firm had climbed to A$1.78 on Wednesday, when it claimed to have “exceeded production targets” in a report for the latest quarter.

Several junior miners also fell in trading last week. Southern Gold Limited fell by a cent per share in Sydney over the week to end on Friday at A$0.07, despite claiming to have found a “near resource” gold mineralisation at its Bulong South project in Western Australia.

The firm – which is exploring properties in Cambodia’s Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces – also announced on Friday it had raised A$1.18 million through a share purchase plan that had closed in December.

Indochine Mining Limited also declined 5 percent last week, closing at A$0.19. However, it has increased from $0.15 since first listing on the Australian exchange on December 8. It has tenements in Ratanakkiri and Kratie provinces.

Other Australian-listed companies active in Cambodia saw increases on the ASX last week. ANZ Bank – 55 percent owner of Cambodia’s ANZ Royal Bank – finished the week at A$23.33, a one percent increase on its Monday open.