https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/31999633/1-3b-value-jump-in-gold-rush/
Gold miners in WA saw their value jump by $1.3 billion yesterday as the investor flood into the precious metal reached fever pitch, prompting some to question whether the rally at a time of global economic upheaval was running too hard.
The big three — Newcrest Mining (Telfer), Evolution Mining (Mungari) and Northern Star Resources (Kundana) — led the charge with soaring share prices that added $1 billion to their already high market value.
The rally extended to the next tier of Regis Resources (Duketon), Metals X (Higginsville) and St Barbara, with perfectly timed news of a third straight year of record production from its core asset, the Gwalia mine near Leonora. Gwalia bettered forecasts with 267,166oz in the financial year which, when added to output from Simberi in Papua New Guinea, gave St Barbara 386,564oz for the year. The company’s shares jumped 15¢ to $3.49, its best since 2008. A little over a year ago St Barbara, then beset with debt and a troubled production profile, was trading near 20¢.
The stunning outperformance of gold stocks, driven almost exclusively by a gold price that hit $1843.79 yesterday in the wake of crises in the US, Europe and the Middle East, has prompted inevitable talk the rally has run too hard. There is expectation some of the miners will use their highly valued scrip to pursue corporate activity, maybe even orchestrate a cash-out to a bigger North American or Chinese peer.
Evolution shares broke through $3 for the first time before closing at $2.95, while Northern Star closed at $5.75 after reaching a record $5.82 intraday. A year ago, the miners were trading at $1.21 and $2.21, respectively.
Doray Minerals (Andy Well) has risen from 44¢ to $1.17 yesterday, a four-year high. Managing director Allan Kelly disclosed he had sold 1.65 million shares for $1.8 million — his first sale since 2012 — to meet tax bills. He retains 10.6 million shares.
At the junior end, Intermin Resources soared 18 per cent to 13¢ after saying it would cost $4.5 million to develop its small Teal project, near Kalgoorlie-Boulder, while Burey Gold, run out of Perth but focused on Africa, jumped 11 per cent to 7.1¢ after raising $11.6 million at 5.4¢.
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