re: lihir, gold and gold stocks How can anyone make sense of...

re: lihir, gold and gold stocks How can anyone make sense of such a volitile day...it confounds me...LHG was up nicely when gold was between $412-$415oz last night...and following the change in text from the FOMC...everything collapsed including gold and Lihir. That said...Gold is still trading just above $410oz as I speak...which is $6 up on its lows from yesterday.

Moreover, we had news that...

1. India has dropped import restrictions for gold

2. ODJ Bullion Traders Cautiously Upbeat On Tanigaki Gold Remarks (see text below)

Sydney, Jan. 28 (Dow Jones) - Asian bullion traders have reacted with
cautious optimism to remarks Wednesday afternoon by Japan's finance minister
on the country's desire to re-examine its foreign exchange reserves, including
its gold holdings.

"It's certainly very interesting, and if Japan do go ahead and buy more,
it would have a very, very positive impact on gold," Martin Mayne, associate
director of bullion sales at N M Rothschild and Sons in Sydney, told Dow Jones
Newswires.

Sadakazu Tanigaki said his ministry will carefully consider whether to change the composition of its US$673.53 billion in forex reserves, including the weighting of gold in that total.

According to the latest data, Japan has a relatively low amount of bullion
compared with other nations, including the U.S. The market may interpret the
remark as suggesting it will move to diversify its portfolio on concern over
heavy exposure to U.S. dollar-denominated assets.