the improved tone in the gold sector of the stock-market can be seen in the share prices of ASX-listed stocks, with most recently hitting 12-month share price highs, including some making a return from a near-death experience.
silver Lake Resources is a prime example of a gold-miner hit by high costs, a falling $US gold price, a high $A, and a mistimed diversion into copper exploration. The result was a share price crash from $3.96 three-and-a-half years ago to a low of 12.7 cents last September, before rebounding to recent sales at 34 cents and a 12-month high two weeks ago of 38 cents.
looked at from a negative perspective and it can be argued that Silver Lake’s share price has fallen by 91.4 per cent since its 2012 peak; but viewed another-way and the stock is up by 167 per cent in six months.
what interests investors is that Silver Lake has made a return as a pure-play gold producer focused on WA’s eastern Goldfields, with a plan to produce up to 135,000oz of gold a year at an all-in sustaining cost that has been cut back to $1,280/oz with a target of $1,000/oz. The result has been a strong increase in profit, an accelerated exploration program, and a series of mine-development options.
