King Newmont

http://stockcharts.c...er?chart=nem,uu[w,a]waclyyay[pi!b50][.png

Potential Placer Dome acquisition. Risk to near term share price would keep a lid on it IMO. I would stay away from some from the big cap names right now as they could be getting into an acquisitive frame of mind. cheers, john

cuz the XAU and gold have topped out for the moment...time for a little correction

Look at KRY. I would be krying if I did not own it. Any thoughts on price resistance.

John,

That does not explain why HUI looks the same, James Dines is expecting gold to correct into 2006, the gold stock investors according to theory must be expecting a downturn or else the break-out would have happened already, since gold has moved up.

Russ

Potential Placer Dome acquisition. Risk to near term share price would keep a lid on it IMO. I would stay away from some from the big cap names right now as they could be getting into an acquisitive frame of mind.

cheers,

john

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Hi Russ,

Believe what you want to believe I guess.

Remember what happened to Barrick's share price when it announced a bid for PDG?

Everyone seems so "fixated" on the $hui and NEM.

cheers,

john

TORONTO, VANCOUVER
Barrick rebuffed Newmont on side deal
ERIC REGULY AND WENDY STUECK

TORONTO, VANCOUVER -- Newmont Mining Corp.'s failure to secure a non-aggression pact with Barrick Gold Corp. has pushed the Denver-based company a step closer to launching a rival offer for Placer Dome Inc.

Sources close to the companies said Newmont told Barrick it would steer clear of Placer if it secured the right to buy certain Placer mines from Barrick. The offer was made based on Barrick's $9.2-billion (U.S.) bid for Placer succeeding.

The pitch was rejected by Toronto-based Barrick, led by chairman Peter Munk. "Peter didn't want to throw any crumbs to Newmont," a source said.

Placer has stakes in 16 gold mines, most of which are of little interest to Newmont,  which is attracted to Placer's three mines in Nevada. If Newmont were to win Placer, it would likely sell many of the other mines over three years.

One of the Nevada sites, the Turquoise Ridge/Getchell underground mine, is 25 per cent owned by Newmont. Placer's other Nevada mines are called Bald Mountain and Cortez. The Nevada portfolio, and one mine in Montana, produce 800,000 ounces of gold a year, equivalent to 17 per cent of Placer's revenue.

Yesterday, Placer raised resource estimates for Bald Mountain, saying that measured and indicated resources there have doubled and inferred resources have tripled. The Vancouver-based company is expected to release more  data in coming weeks to bolster its argument that Barrick's bid is too low.

Mr. Munk -- who in Toronto yesterday pressed the case to keep Canadian mines in Canadian hands -- and Newmont would not comment on the peace proposal. In the meantime, Newmont, which has vast mining properties in Nevada, is visiting Placer's mines in preparation for a possible bid.

A source said that if Newmont bids, it would try to negotiate a "huge break fee" to decrease the chances of Barrick returning with a higher offer for Placer.

Barrick's offer was made on Oct. 31 and expires on Dec. 20. It would see Placer shareholders get $20.50 in cash, or a combination of 0.7518 of a Barrick common share plus 5 cents in cash, for each Placer share. Placer rejected the offer last week.

Placer called Barrick's offer "inadequate."  It has given Newmont access to its data room.

In a presentation yesterday at a Scotia Capital metals conference in Toronto, Barrick president and CEO Greg Wilkins said the company's offer was "full and fair . . . We see no reason to amend our bid one iota. Barrick is already offering a substantial 27-per-cent premium."

At the same conference, Placer executive vice-president Geoff Handley said it had been approached by "many" firms, and that alternatives to the Barrick takeover could include a sale or restructuring in partnership with others.

Rob McEwen, the former CEO of Goldcorp Inc., which struck a deal with Barrick to buy Placer's Canadian assets for $1.35-billion,  thinks Nevada is ripe for gold mining consolidation. If Barrick and Newmont could agree on co-operating there, it would amount to a "breakthrough in the industry," he said.

Companies tend to pursue joint ventures on weaker projects and try to keep the more promising ones to themselves, a strategy that can result in overlapping infrastructure and other unnecessary costs.

"If done right, it would seem to me there would be plenty of room for cost savings," Mr. McEwen said. "You would have some economies of scale that aren't available now because they are owned by different corporate entities."

Newmont president Pierre Lassonde told the Australian press a few days ago that he was mulling a bid for Placer. "I think it would be fair to say that we have to at least think about it, but whether or not we are going to do something is far from evident."

Newmont's extremely bullish view on gold prices suggests the company is seriously considering a bid for Placer. Mr. Lassonde said he expects gold to be at $525 an ounce by early next year, up from the current $503, and as high as $1,000 in the next five to seven years as Asian gold demand outstrips supply.

Barrick, the third-largest producer, says the purchase of Placer would  boost its output to 8.4 million ounces a year and displace Newmont as the top producer.

***

Placer Dome's three prized Nevada assets

Newmont Mining may yet bid for Placer Dome but the assets it really wants to get its hands on are the Canadian miner's three producing gold properties in Nevada. Barrick Gold, which has bid $9.2-billion (U.S.) for Placer, also has a big presence in the state.

***

1. Bald Mountain

Mining at this 100-er-cent owned Placer property was expected to end in mid-2003 after 20 years of production. However, the development of an additional phase of mining extended its life through to 2009.

*2004 production: 46,685 ounces

*Proven & probable: 949,000 contained ounces

***

2.Turquoise Ridge

Mining was restarted in 2003 in a joint venture with Newmont as part of a plan to reduce costs, improve recoveries and extend its life. Production is expected to reach 300,000 ounces a year by the end of 2006.

*2004 production: 126,921 ounces

*Proven & probable: 3,150,000 contained ounces

***

3. Cortez

Placer Dome's largest gold producer, the Cortez Hills project, which was approved for development in September, has added an estimated 3.3 million ounces to its reserves. Placer owns a 60-per-cent joint venture interest in the project.

*2004 production: 630,801 ounces

*Proven & probable: 8,858,000 contained ounces

SOURCE: COMPANY REPORTS

Edited by SilentOne, 30 November 2005 - 08:26 AM.

John,

I am expecting gold to go up into a major top into the 2012-14 time frame. I am only concerned that the major unhedged index - Gold Bugs Index(HUI) is not breaking out here, of which Newmont is a part.

Russ

John,

That does not explain why HUI looks the same, James Dines is expecting gold to correct into 2006, the gold stock investors according to theory must be expecting a downturn or else the break-out would have happened already, since gold has moved up.

Russ

Potential Placer Dome acquisition. Risk to near term share price would keep a lid on it IMO. I would stay away from some from the big cap names right now as they could be getting into an acquisitive frame of mind.

cheers,

john

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Russ,

The $hui is starting to act like the "hedged" index.

Time to start folowing the alternatives a bit more. See my post last month.

http://traders-talk....topic=45037&hl=

cheers,

john

the pattern on nem is quite bullish. this is a big foundation for a big up move. it went into this pattern on the upside, and my guess is we come out on the upside. it will take more time. long dharma