Saturday, March 10, 2007

Investing in Gold

There are three ways to invest in gold, each of them with their own merits. You can purchase physical gold, in the form of bullion or coins (like the American Eagle, the Kruferrand or the Sovereign) and simply store it. This has the problem that you can have no gearing and thus can only gain limited exposure to a rise in prices.

You can also play in futures and options but that is only for the true professional really. You get lots and lots of gearing but for a limited time.

The third is to invest in gold miners, like General Metals Corporation. This gives you gearing (the stock should go up by more than the rise in the gold price) and also a long term exposure to it, as equity shares are not time limited.

Now gold has traditionally moved counter cyclically to the stock market, inflation being bad for stocks and good for the gold price. Whether that relationship will hold in the future is another matter. As with all investments you have to accept that it's possible to lose money as well as make it.

However, in this press release there's certainly a very good case made for this stock:

"Gold Expected to Dominate the Investment Horizon, Experts Advise Early Stock Purchases (Reno, NV – March 5, 2007) Traditionally, gold has had an inverse relationship with the stock market. When stocks go up, the price of gold usually falls; when stocks flounder, the price of gold usually skyrockets. Some experts believe it could mean a lot for investors in 2007, because gold is once again catching the eye of the investor. For General Metals Corporation, the news couldn’t come at a better time. “With our plans to begin drilling at Independence Mine, we’re more than thrilled to hear gold is making a comeback,” states company CEO Stephen Parent. “We’re even more excited with our location; it’s a proven producer.” General Metals acquired the Independence Mine in northern Nevada and became a public company last year, trading under the symbol GNLM. Predominantly a silver mine from 1938 to 1987, the Independence Mine is estimated to contain over two million ounces of gold, as well as over two million ounces of additional un-mined silver. As the Independence Mine is essentially an island within Newmont Mining’s Phoenix Mine, the area is already a proven producer. According to Parent, they plan to remove the precious metals in two phases. “Phase one includes our ‘shallow’ targets,” says Parent. “The shallow targets contain less gold, but they’re easily and quickly accessible, which will encourage early cash flow. Phase two is where the majority of our gold will come from. It’s deep mining, but we expect it to produce 1.4 to 2 million ounces of gold.” They expect to produce 20,000 ounces of gold in the first year, 60,000 ounces in the second year and 70,000 ounces in the third year -- approximately $101 million from early estimates. The company also anticipates an additional $1.36 billion to be gained from phase two production. In an effort to increase their mining production, General Metals has recently acquired the Nyinahin Mining Concession in Ghana. Located in one of the most active exploratory areas in the world, this concession shares borders with several major mining companies, including Newmont Mining, Napoli Gold and Dunkwa Continental Goldfields. “Financial experts are predicting gold to play a key role in investor’s profiles during 2007,” adds Parent. “But due to the timely nature, potential investors will need to act quickly in order to maximize their gains.”"

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