paying dividends in gold

Gold miner Endeavour Mining Corp's (ASX: EVR) chief executive Neil Woodyer has suggested the company could pay dividends in physical gold.
It's all part of a radical plan to turnaround under-performing gold equities. While the price of gold has risen more than 200 per cent since 2006, major gold stocks were flat over the same time, according to Nick Holland, CEO of South African miner, Gold Fields Limited.
Endeavour's Mr Woodyer, has told The Australian: “We can't pay a dividend while we're borrowing money, but when we do, we will pay it in gold. People will love it. They could take it in cash if they wanted to, but we produce gold and that should be our currency.”

Rebuilding shattered confidence

He added that his plan was part of a crusade to rebuild investor confidence in the gold sector. Reporting of production cash costs that excluded significant charges, such as royalties and depreciation, and a history of over-promising and under-delivering had hurt investor attitudes towards the sector, he said.
Several gold miners around the world have started reporting their full production costs per ounce of gold, as well as the cash costs of production in an effort to make their reporting more transparent. Australian listed gold miners, Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) and Kingsgate Consolidated (ASX: KCN) now both report total cash costs which include royalties as well as other costs, as does Gold Fields and North American gold giants Barrick and Newmont.
Getting back to Endeavour and its gold dividend plan, while the logistics of paying all shareholders in gold boggles the mind, Mr Woodyer suggested that with a large number of significant shareholders on Endeavour's register, distribution of the gold would be relatively simple.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/dividends-paid-in-gold-20130208-2e2sy.html#ixzz2KHVzofpQ