nice pullback to 16c - tempting !! (eom), page-3

gold fever's back in ballarat

http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11571381%255E462,00.html

Gold fever's back in Ballarat
By Andrew Trounson
December 3, 2004

VICTORIA'S historic but long-stagnated gold industry is on the way back - and global giants are starting to take notice.

The likes of South Africa's Goldfields, Canada's Barrick and Australia's largest producer, Newcrest, have all staked ground in the state.

They are there to keep tabs on juniors, including Bendigo Mining, Perseverance, Ballarat Goldfields and Leviathan Resources, which are all working to bring new projects into production.

Victoria's annual gold output of about 150,000 ounces is poised to jump to 400,000oz by the end of next year, and the industry predicts that production could grow to 1 million ounces a year over the next 10 years.

"There's little doubt global miners not only have a watching brief but are seeking to develop their own opportunities here," Perseverance executive chairman John Quinn said yesterday at a Melbourne Mining Club lunch to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1854 Eureka Stockade rebellion near Ballarat.