lhg the pick of the big golds

LHG is set to fly with the gold price back over $371.

The stock is, in my view the best of the Aussie blue chip golds.

Why?

Its total resource figure (and that includes reserves) has been upgraded to a massive 41.1 million ounces of gold and its reserves are now standing at an extraordinary 143.0 million ounces. LHG is going to be around for a long, long time.

Of all of the Aussie gold majors LHG is the Least hedged - only 12.9% of its reserve base is covered by hedges.

Gold production for the December quarter was up to a record 168,443 ounces - and this is set to rise singnificantly. LHG has the capacity to ramp up production to a million ounces p/a through plant expansion at the Kapit resource. And with the gold price continuing to rise this is a distinct possibility further down the track.

A share price for LHG over $2.00 is feasible.

NCM still has big capital expenses linked to its proposed Telfer mine while SGW's gold operations are expensive due to its high cost underground operations.

Of the three gold majors - LHG NCM & SGW - it is LHG by a "country mile" which has least hedging and therefore has the best leverage to rises in the gold price.