Gold shares shining brightly today include:

• Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), rising 1.14%
• Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), lifting 2.57%
• St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM), jumping 3.91%
• Emerald Resources NL (ASX: EMR), leaping 2.38%
• Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL), up 1.97%
• AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (ASX: AGG), 3.33% higher
• SSR Mining Inc (ASX: SSR), 1.43% in the green
• Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX: RSG), elevating 3.17%
• Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM), up 2.11%
• Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX), picking up 1.87%
• Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD), leaping 2.53%
• Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR), rising 1.32%

In contrast, the benchmark ASX 200 Index is 1.51% in the red today.

So why are ASX investors buying up All Ords gold shares today?

What's going on?

ASX All Ords gold shares appear to be rising today amid a lift in the gold price overnight.

Amid market turmoil, investors appear to be turning to gold as a safe haven asset.

The gold price rose by more than 1% to its highest level since early February during Wednesday's trade in the USA, Reuters reported. Spot gold hit US$1,924.63 per ounce.

Commenting on this pivot to gold, Blue Line Futures chief market strategist in Chicago, Phillip Streible said:

It's a total safe-haven trade. There's a lot of concern about Credit Suisse and now European banks are really coming under quite a bit of pressure. So it's a complete flight to safety.

The ASX 200 is struggling today after the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) slid 0.7% and Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) fell 0.87% in the USA overnight. News that Swiss bank Credit Suisse's largest investor would not raise its stake beyond 10% (as reported by Reuters) sent the market into turmoil.

However, gold is bucking this trend. We saw a similar pattern on Tuesday, with ASX investors turning to gold despite the ASX 200 sliding.

In a research note this morning, ANZ economist John Bromhead commented on today's gold rally in the midst of the banking crisis. He said.

After a shaky start, gold rallied sharply as investors rushed to have assets amid the widening banking crisis.

Investors struggled to form a unified view on the Federal Reserve's next move. Producer prices in the US unexpectedly fell in February. This comes following strong consumer prices earlier in the week. However, fresh woes at Credit Suisse saw safe haven buying continue to pick up. This was aided by the sharp drop in yields on US Treasuries.

Despite the rise overnight, the gold price is now pulling back and is down 0.89% to US$1,914.20 an ounce, CNBC data shows.

The post Despite today's ASX sell-off, All Ords gold shares are surging significantly higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

They've each surged to their highest point in at least 12 months on Tuesday.

That's despite the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) slipping 0.12% while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.26% at the time of writing.

Additionally, the S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) is in the red, having plunged 2.17%.

So, what's boosted these ASX mining shares to new 52-week highs today? Let's take a look.

These ASX mining shares hit new 52-week highs on Tuesday

Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX)

The Westgold share price is continuing its upward momentum on Tuesday, gaining 4.2% in intraday trade to reach a new 52-week high of $2.46.

The stock is likely being boosted by the rising gold price. After moving higher overnight, the price of gold is continuing to trade in the green for most of today's session so far.

The commodity's price was driven to its highest point since 2020 amid concerns of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising oil prices, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Zimplats Holdings Ltd (ASX: ZIM)

The Zimplats share price has also launched to its highest point in 12 months today.

Its intraday high – and new 52-week high – is $29.73. That represents a 5.1% gain on its previous close.

The platinum group metals producer's gains come as precious metals prices surge.

According to News24, the price of palladium – as well as platinum – has also soared amid Russia's continued assault on Ukraine.

Russia is responsible for a hefty chunk of the world's palladium production.

Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED)

Another ASX gold mining share has topped its own 12-month record today.

The Red 5 share price hit a new 52-week high of 34.5 cents, representing a 4.5% increase on its previous close.

AngloGold Ashanti CDI (ASX: AGG)

It's a similar story for stock in AngloGold Ashanti.

It hit a new 52-week high of $7.10 earlier today. That's 3.9% higher than its share price was at the end of Monday's session.

Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)

Finally, the Nickel Mines share price launched higher in early trade before tumbling into the red.

After opening 6% higher at $1.75, the ASX mining share hit a new 52-week high of $1.79.

It has since tumbled to trade at $1.61 — that's 2.27% lower than its previous close.

Once again, commodity prices are likely behind the stock's gain.

As The Motley Fool Australia reported earlier today, nickel prices have shot up amid supply concerns sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It's harder to explain Nickel Mines' subsequent tumble. However, it's joined in the red by fellow nickel producers IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) and Mincor Resources NL (ASX: MCR).

The post 5 ASX mining shares smashing 52-week highs today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

ASX gold shares are posting another strong day of outperformance.

The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), down 0.8% in morning trade, has bounced to a 0.2% gain at lunchtime. This follows on intraday news that the Aussie economy grew by a stronger than expected 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

But ASX gold shares are still broadly beating the benchmark.

At time of writing the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is up 1.9%. Reflecting gold's haven status, the ASX Gold Index slipped from its 3.1% gains earlier today on the strong GDP figures. 

Why are ASX gold shares outperforming today?

As you'd expect, ASX gold shares tend to perform much better when gold prices are high. And gold prices have been soaring amid the combination of increasing inflation concerns and geopolitical instability following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

While bullion slipped over the past hours from US$1,945 to US$1,932 per troy ounce, it's well up from the US$1,908 per ounce it was trading for on 28 February. And the yellow metal remains 7.3% above its 1 February level of US$1,801 per ounce. 

Commenting on the forces driving gold prices higher, and helping ASX gold shares outperform again, Gary Dugan, CEO of Global CIO Office said (quoted by Bloomberg):

The whole crisis has gone to a level that we couldn't have believed, and investors are no longer saying we'll buy some defensive stocks or bonds. It's now about buying gold especially against the backdrop of inflation risks that have been made worse by the conflict.

Yeap Jun Rong, a strategist at IG Asia added: 

Gold may continue to outperform other haven assets, with an added tailwind from central bank purchases and also displaying its characteristic as an inflation hedge. The conflict has not seen any signs of easing and further escalation may heighten risks of persistent inflationary pressures, which will continue to draw traction for gold prices.

4 outperforming gold miners

We can't cover all of the ASX gold shares here, but below are 4 that are handily beating the index today.

With gold high on global investors' radars, the Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price is up 1.3%.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN) is also charging higher, up 2.2%, while the Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is up 1.6%.

Leading the pack of ASX gold shares today is AngloGold Ashanti CDI (ASX: AGG). The Anglogold share price is up 7.7%. 

The post Here's why ASX gold shares are having another stellar day appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

ASX 200 gold shares, however, have not contributed to that strong performance.

With a sliding gold price, it's been a difficult period for gold miners.

In fact, if you run your slide rule across the 32 gold shares listed on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), you'll find that only 5 are in the black for the calendar year 2021. Meaning 27 are showing a loss.

This, while the All Ords index itself is up 14% year to date.

The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) tells a similar story. Over the past year, the All Ords Gold Index is down 27%. Year to date, it's lost 17%.

And the biggest producers, those topping the list of ASX 200 gold shares in terms of market caps, have not been spared.

How have these top ASX 200 gold shares been tracking?

Sticking with the 4 biggest gold producers by market cap:

• The Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price is down 26% over the past 12 months and down 6% in 2021
• The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is down 34% over 12 months and down 30% year to date
• The AngloGold Ashanti CDI (ASX: AGG) share price is down 41% since this time last year and down 20% so far in 2021
• And the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is down 31% over the past 12 months and down 25% year to date.

So, what's dragging on ASX 200 gold shares?

Miners are leveraged to the price of gold

While many factors impact the share prices of specific ASX 200 gold shares, the price of the yellow metal they dig up from the ground is a key factor.

And the gold price has been bouncing lower since hitting all-time highs of US$2,035 per troy ounce just over 1 year ago, on 7 August.

At the time of writing, an ounce of gold is worth US$1,755, down 14% from the August 2020 peak.

Now if you look at the share price losses for the ASX 200 gold shares listed above again, you'll notice all 4 have lost significantly more than 14% in 12 months.

Why is that?

Well, you may have heard it said that gold miners are leveraged to the price of gold.

That's because a miner's fixed costs generally don't change when the price of gold rises or falls.

Here's a quick, hypothetical example.

Say it costs a company $1,200 per ounce to recover gold and bring it to market. And say the current price of gold is $1,500. The company is therefore making a profit of $300 per ounce.

Now imagine the price of gold falls by $200 to $1,300 per ounce. The miner's profit margin is now down to $100 per ounce.

In our example, that's a 66% reduction in profit margins from only a 13% drop in the gold price. Hence, miners are said to be leveraged to the price of the minerals they produce.

As for our top 4 ASX 200 gold shares above, you can see they've all been impacted by falling gold prices. Some more than others.

The post Why ASX 200 gold shares are deep in the red this year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

There's a clear pattern among the 2021 financial year's biggest fallers – in fact, it's etched in gold. Let's take a look.

Worst performing mining and resource shares of FY21

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute Mining share price was the worst performing mining and resource share of the financial year – dropping a whopping 58%. The Resolute share price has fallen from $1.22 to just 51 cents over the past 52 weeks.

The company is a gold miner with assets in Senegal, Mali, and Ghana. During FY21, the company's lease on the Bibiani Mine was terminated and it was affected by the Mali military's mutiny.

It has a market capitalisation of around $574 million, with approximately 1.1 billion shares outstanding.

Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL)

The Regis Resources share price was the second worst performer, falling 55% over the 2021 financial year. Regis shares are currently trading for $2.44 apiece – at the beginning of the financial year, Regis shares were $5.30.

In a case of unfortunate timing, its share price closed yesterday's session at a new 52-week low.

Regis is a gold miner with assets in Western Australia.

It has a market capitalisation of around $1.8 billion, with approximately 754 million shares outstanding.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price fell 48% over the financial year just gone – it's now $1.76. At the start of the 2021 financial year, shares in St Barbara were trading for $3.28.

The most recent hit to the St Barbara share price came in May, when it downgraded its production guidance and increased its expected costs.

St Barbara is another gold miner. Its operations are based in Australia, Canada, and Papua New Guinea.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $1.2 billion, with approximately 708 million shares outstanding.

AngloGold Ashanti CDI (ASX: AGG)

The AngloGold Ashanti share price also had a tough year. It fell 43% in the 2021 financial year to trade for $4.83.

The company is a global gold miner with a head office in South Africa and assets in 4 continents. It also produces silver and sulphuric acid as they're by-products of its gold production.

The most recent news from AngloGold came late last month, when the company shared a rescue mission had begun after a contract worker was unable to be found after a fall of ground at one of the company's mines in Ghana. AngloGold updated the market on the rescue mission 7 days later, but the missing worker was yet to be found.

AngloGold Ashanti has a market capitalisation of around $424 million, with approximately 2 billion shares outstanding.

SSR Mining Inc CDI (ASX: SSR)

The SSR Mining share price made the list of the worst performing mining and resource shares of the 2021 financial year despite only debuting on the ASX in September 2020.

Its shares have fallen 33% since then. They're currently swapping hands for $20.53 apiece.

However, SSR Mining isn't new to the ASX – it used to trade as Alacer Gold Corp.

The company is yet another gold producer. It has operations in the United States, Canada, Turkey, Mexico, and Peru. It also produces a small amount of silver.

SSR Mining shares have been falling lately despite the company releasing good news, including a positive first quarter report and news of increased debt facilities.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $375 million, with approximately 220 million shares outstanding.

The post These are the 5 worst performing ASX mining and resource shares of FY21 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Let's take a look at the month that was for the diversified mining company's share price.

An unfortunate time for the Perenti share price

The Perenti share price fell 9% between the end of April and when the company released news for the first time in May.

Revenue and earnings downgrade

In its first release of the month, Perenti downgraded its revenue and earnings guidance for the 2021 and 2022 financial years. Though, Perenti didn't specify how much the company's earnings are expected to fall.

The company blamed the downgrade on 3 happenings.

First, travel restrictions due to COVID-19 and an on-site shutdown caused by an outbreak of the virus have lowered Perenti's production rate.

Perenti has also had to increase its worker's wages amidst a labour shortage.

Finally, it stated the strengthening of the Aussie dollar will cause a $1.4 million annual hit to Perenti's earnings before interest and tax.

The downgrade caused the Perenti share price to close 29.5% lower than it did in the previous session.

Underground incident

On May 21, Perenti updated the market with the awful news that an employee of its joint venture had gone missing during a fall-of-ground in one of the Obuasi Gold Mine's mining stopes.

The fall of ground occurred on 18 May. All work at the mine was halted for a search and rescue operation.

AngloGold Ashanti CDI (ASX: AGG), the owner of the mine, stated rescue teams were working around the clock in difficult geotechnical conditions to find the employee.

The worker was employed by the Underground Mining Alliance (UMA). UMA is a joint venture between Perenti's subsidiary, African Underground Mining Services, and Rocksure, a Ghanaian contracting company.

On May 27, Perenti shared the news that the worker still hadn't been found. Work at the mine was still halted while the search continued.

AngloGold stated it was supporting the family of the worker, and Perenti said it was helping AngloGold to do so.

Perenti Global share price snapshot

The poor month's performance has added to the Perenti Global share price's troubling 2021 on the ASX.  

Currently, the Perenti Global share price has fallen by 52% since the start of the year. It's also fallen by 51% over the last 12 months.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $471 million, with approximately 704 million shares outstanding.

The post Why did the Perenti (ASX:PRN) share price fall 38.5% in May? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, Perenti shares are shedding 4.29% to 67 cents. It's worth noting though that before the update, the company's share price was flat at 70 cents.

Let's take a close look and see what Perenti updated the ASX with.

Search effort underway

Investors are selling off Perenti shares in light of the company's latest news.

In its announcement, Perenti advised that a mining employee from the Underground Mining Alliance (UMA) has disappeared at AngloGold Ashanti CDI's (ASX: AGG) Obuasi mine.

The UMA is a joint venture between Perenti's subsidiary, African Underground Mining Services and Rocksure, a local Ghanaian contracting company. The companies hold a 70% and 30% interest, respectively.

According to AngloGold Ashanti's release, a mining contractor went missing after a fall of ground in one of the operation's mining stops. The incident took place on 18 May and immediately triggered a search and rescue effort.

AngloGold Ashanti noted that rescue teams have worked around the clock in difficult geotechnical conditions to find the missing colleague.

Relevant authorities have been notified and are providing support to the worker's family and friends. In addition, UMA is working closely with AngloGold Ashanti during this time.

AngloGold Ashanti emphasised that safety is paramount and as a result, will indefinitely suspend all mining activity at Obuasi mine. Perenti expects the shutdown won't have any material impact on its FY21 earnings.

An update on the situation is expected to be provided in due course.

About the Perenti share price

Established in 1987, Perenti is one of the world's largest companies that provides surface and underground mining and support services. The group is headquartered in Australia, and has operations and offices across 11 countries.

Over the past 12 months, the Perenti share price has fallen over 40%, with year-to-date performance also down more than 50%. The company's shares reached a 52-week high of $1.60 in June 2020 on the back of a positive business update. However, the company's recent half-year results in February sent its shares south.

On valuation grounds, Perenti presides a market capitalisation of roughly $471 million, with about 704 million shares on issue.

The post The Perenti (ASX:PRN) share price is dropping 4% today. Here's why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today's positive price movement comes amid news the company has successfully divested its minority stake in a gold mining project.

Let's take a closer look at today's news and what it means for the IGO share price.

IGO offloads Tropicana investment

In a statement to the ASX, IGO advised it has sold its 30% stake in the Tropicana Gold Mine to Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL). The sale was pending confirmation from Tropicana majority owner, AngloGold Ashanti (ASX: AGG). This approval was received yesterday.

The divestment of Tropicana marks "an important strategic milestone" for IGO.

The company said the transaction maximised the value of Tropicana for IGO's shareholders and allowed it to focus on commodities critical to enabling clean energy. Investors seemingly agree, judging by today's IGO share price rise.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to fund the purchase of the Tianqi Lithium Corporation's Australian lithium assets.

Lithium demand continues 

It's no secret that Lithium shares have been soaring in recent months. Strong demand for the element is linked to rising demand for electric vehicles – which use lithium in their batteries.

The website Trading Economics puts the price of lithium on the open market at approximately US $14,000 a tonne. It's up an astonishing 93.6% since the beginning of the year. Other metals surging on the green energy boom include cobalt, copper, nickel, palladium, platinum, and rhodium.

In other news affecting the IGO share price recently, Antipa Minerals Ltd (ASX: AZY) announced the Burracoppin Project (which it has a 30% interest in) has "encouraging" essay results.

The best results, according to Antipa, include a 1-metre-wide ore with 7.48g of gold per tonne and an 8-metre-wide ore with 0.47g of gold per tonne.

IGO share price snapshot

Over the past year, the IGO share price has increased 55.57% and posted a 65.17% rise in 2021.

IGO Ltd has a market capitalisation of $5.4 billion.

The post IGO (ASX:IGO) share price lifts on latest updates appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Among the company's own ESG products is a range of software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. This includes the 'RCubed' product which is used for mineral resource and reserve governance, compliance, and reporting. In addition, the company provides 'Infoscope', a product to help companies maintain their 'social license' to operate on land. Uniquely, Infoscope delivers stakeholder, tenement, cultural heritage, native title and environmental management, as well as full life-cycle ground disturbance process.

Why is the K2Fly share price on watch?

The company announced an increase in Q4 FY20 invoices of 28% versus the previous corresponding period. For the full FY20 year, this translated into an increase of 60% against FY19. In addition, the company announced it was cashflow positive for Q4 FY20. The FY20 activities have been largely focused on building annual recurring revenues via the SaaS business model.

FY20 annual recurring revenue stands at $2.36 million, this is running at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 177%. Q4 new clients to the Rcubed product include the Tier 1 miners Kinross Gold, South32 Ltd (ASX: S32), Sibelco and Orano SA. They join a list of announced Rcubed clients including Newmont Corporation and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO). Many Tier 1 miners have also extended their licensing agreements including AngloGold Ashanti (ASX: AGG), Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) and Teck Resources.

In the 13 months since acquisition, the Rcubed product has exceeded its 3 year acquisition performance milestone. The company has been helped by Rcubed's capability to work across a range of international stock markets. 

Company performance

Along with the Rcubed contracts, the company is also progressing new products. One of these involves an MoU with Decipher Pty Ltd,  a company with an award-winning cloud-based mine rehabilitation platform. K2F and Decipher have partnered to create an integrated monitoring and governance platform for Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF).

This further extends the K2Fly product range in both the environmental and governance areas of ESG requirements. The company is already collaborating with SAP on the development of a Tailings solution. The Decipher partnership adds a further level of detail into the monitoring of facilities.

In December 2019 a new entity, 'The Place of Keeping' took over the rollout of Infoscope to Australian Aboriginal groups. 'The Keeping Place' is  a secure platform that enables Traditional Owners to unlock social and economic opportunities for current and future generations.

The K2Fly share price has risen by 107.6% since its low point on March 20, valuing it at $24.95 million.

The post K2Fly share price on watch after update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Saracen currently operates two gold mines in Western Australia: the Carosue Dam Gold Mine south of Laverton, and the Thunderbox Gold Mine south-east of Leinster. According to Saracen, both operations have long useful lives and the possibility of expansion through additional exploration.

But the big question is why has the share price of Saracen soared so high this month? Biotech growth stocks and tech heavy-hitters like Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH), CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) have all been tumbling, spurred on by a global selloff of equities. So how has Saracen managed to avoid the rout?

There are two key reasons. The first – and probably most important – is the price of gold. Saracen focuses exclusively on gold mining and can be considered a pure play on the commodity. When share markets become volatile – as they are right now – the price of gold tends to rise. This is because physical commodities – and gold in particular – are considered by many investors to be safe haven assets that tend to be a good store of value during times of market turbulence.

Saracen's share price has historically been highly correlated with movements in the price of gold. And after declining steadily for most of this year, there has been about a 4% uptick in the US price of gold so far in October. At the time of writing, gold was fetching just under US$ 1,233 an ounce, up from US$ 1,189 at the beginning of the month.

Most ASX-listed gold miners have benefited from the recent turnaround in the price of gold. Shares in ANGLOGOLD/IDR UNRESTR (ASX: AGG) and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) have risen about 18% so far in October, Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) are up about 7%, and OceanaGold Corp (ASX: OGC) is up 2%. While most of us have been struck down with panic attacks every time we turn to the financial pages, shareholders in the gold miners would have been wondering what we're all so anxious about.

But even amongst the gold miners, Saracen's recent performance has been pretty remarkable. Which leads to the second reason for the recent surge in the company's share price, the company itself.

Saracen currently has no debt on its balance sheet, instead choosing to finance its projects through internal cash flows. With no nasty creditors chasing up interest payments, Saracen is in a much better position to deliver value to its shareholders.

The company has also been steadily ramping up its output. FY18 gold production reached a record 316,453 ounces, with production for FY19 expected to be in the range of 325,000 to 345,000 ounces. Revenues for FY18 jumped 21% to $511 million, while NPAT surged 175% higher to $78 million.

Should you invest?

While there is no guarantee that the gold price will continue to climb, Saracen's recent share price performance does demonstrate how vital it is to diversify. Those with portfolios skewed towards growth stocks like Appen, Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) or WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) have been hit especially hard this month.

Having a portion of your portfolio invested in resource companies that act as pure plays on certain commodities, like gold, can help your portfolio hold up during times of market stress.

The post Why this gold miner has skyrocketed 30% this month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The results represent a general improvement on the previous quarter's figures. The company experienced an increase in the quantity of ores milled at its Nova project and an improvement in their grade, and managed to lift production of copper by 30%, while nickel and cobalt volumes grew by approximately 25%.

These three metals are all inputs in the production of batteries, and offer Independence exposure to the electric vehicle industry.

The strong quarter contributed to closing the gap between production volumes and the company's FY18 guidance. Production at Nova is still slightly lower than forecasted – as anticipated two weeks ago by analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), who retained an underperform rating on Independence – but the company expects solid results in 2019 now that the project is fully ramped up.

Independence also has a 30% stake in the Tropicana gold project controlled by ANGLOGOLD/IDR UNRESTR (ASX: AGG). Tropicana produced 467,000 ounces of gold in FY2018, a result around midpoint of the company's guidance.

Independence will be one to watch when they release their FY19 guidance on July 30 2018. In the meantime, I would consider an investment in this small cap star.

The post Why the Independence Group NL (ASX:IGO) share price surged today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As the chart below demonstrates, the gold index is up sharply today and in early afternoon trade has risen 1.1% compared to the 0.1% gain for the All Ordinaries.

Although the majority of Australia's gold miners such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) are posting gains, a number of other miners are making notably bigger gains than others.

The standouts today in my opinion have been Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU), OceanaGold Corporation (ASX: OGC), Alkane Resources Limited (ASX: ALK), Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR), and AngloGold Ashanti Limited (CHESS) (ASX: AGG), with gains of at least 4% each.

These gains come after a survey by Bloomberg revealed that despite the prospect of interest rate hikes in the United States, traders are the most bullish on the gold price since the end of 2015.

According to the survey, traders are bullish due to worries over political developments in Europe and the United States after Donald Trump's election victory, together with an expectation of stronger demand for the precious metal ahead of the Lunar New Year.

This bullish view from traders would help explain why the spot gold price has risen over 4% since the Christmas break to US$1,177 an ounce.

Despite this I wouldn't be in a rush to invest in the gold miners. I expect that under Donald Trump's presidency the United States will see at least three rate hikes in 2017. If this happens then I believe it will place significant pressure on the gold price and Australia's gold miners.

The post Why the gold price is sending the miners higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

According to The Wall Street Journal the U.S. dollar has fallen on the back of U.S. election uncertainty. Since the Clinton email scandal reared its ugly head once again, Donald Trump has gained substantial ground in the polls just one week out from the election.

Market uncertainty is great news for Australia's gold miners as the precious metal is seen as a safe haven during periods of turmoil, driving its price higher.

It will come as no surprise to learn then that despite the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) dropping sharply today, the gold miners are jumping higher as the table below shows.

But with the Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates in December, I'm not entirely sure the gold price will be able to remain at these current levels for much longer.

If the gold price does plummet once rates rise, then the gold miners are likely to follow. For this reason I would suggest investors avoid the gold miners no matter how tempting the appeal.

The post ASX gold miners rocket on potential Trump US election win appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That particular jump in the gold price appeared to be caused by investors and traders anticipating another terrible U.S. non-farm payroll reading later that day.

Although relatively few economists believe that the Federal Reserve will be in a position to raise interest rates this year, an underwhelming jobs report was seen by many as ruling them out once and for all. With interest rates potentially remaining lower for longer, the gold price was free to climb higher.

But the market couldn't have been more wrong with the non-farm payroll reading. The forecast was for 180,000 new jobs to be added to the economy, but in fact a stunning 255,000 new jobs were created. According to CNBC the probability of a September rate hike rose from 12% to 18%, while a hike before the end of the year moved from 34.4% to 46.5%.

The increased probability of a U.S. rate hike this year led to the gold price dropping all the way from US$1,364 an ounce on Friday to US$1,331 an ounce today. If more economic data is released in the coming weeks that further raises the probability of a rate hike, then it is increasingly likely that more weakness will form in the gold price in my opinion.

As a result St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM), OceanaGold Corporation (ASX: OGC), Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG), and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) are all facing steep declines in their share prices today.

Although at these prices it doesn't go anyway near threatening the overall profitability of the majority of Australia's gold miners, it could of course slow their profit growth moving forward making them less attractive investments today.

Whether or not to buy in on today's weakness is entirely down to where the price of gold heads to in the long-term. But because nobody knows this for sure, an investment would be reasonably high risk. Because of this I would suggest that anyone bullish on gold and investing in the miners limits it to just a small part of their portfolio.

The post Here's why the gold miners are getting smashed today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares which have been doing their bit today to help push the index higher are as follows:

AngloGold Ashanti Limited (CHESS) (ASX: AGG) is the pick of the gold miners today after jumping over 5% to $5.85. The majority of the gold miners are pushing higher ahead of the all-important US non-farm payrolls data release tonight. According to a poll by Thomson Reuters, many economists are expecting a disappointing result which could further dampen US rate hike hopes. Should this be the case there is a good chance the price of gold may climb a touch higher.

AngloGold Ashanti's share price is up 220% in 2016.

Mantra Group Ltd (ASX: MTR) shares have had a rollercoaster of a week and are up over 6% to $3.53 today. Hot on the heels of a downgrade to a sell rating by global investment bank Deutsche Bank on Wednesday, today Mantra has been tipped by Morgan Stanley to outperform in the next two months according to a research note. It's not alone in being bullish on the company with Moelis & Company placing a $4 price target on its shares.

Mantra Group's share price is down by 30% in 2016.

SG Fleet Group Ltd (ASX: SGF) shares have continued to climb higher, this time by 4% to $4.28. The company's share price has rocketed this week after it announced plans to acquire UK-based Fleet Hire for £19.6 million plus lease portfolio debt net of cash of £6.1 million. Management expects cash EPS accretion in its first full year of ownership of 4.5%, with further accretion in subsequent years.

SG Fleet's share price has jumped over 17% in the last 30 days.

Surfstitch Group Ltd (ASX: SRF) shares have jumped over 5% to 20 cents despite there being no news out of the struggling online retailer. With its share price down by over 89% this year and some major changes happening recently in the c-suite, it appears some investors are betting on a turnaround coming. Well these bargain hunters won't have to wait long. Surfstitch announced this week that it will report its full year results on August 30. I'm sure there will be a lot of interest in this one.

Suftstitch shares are down 11% in the last 30 days.

The post Here's why these 4 ASX shares are soaring today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Construction activity eases: Construction work done in the December quarter fell by 3.6 per cent, driven by a 9.5 per cent slump in engineering work. Residential work lifted by 2.8 per cent to record highs while commercial building rose 2.5 per cent.

Building inflation: Building inflation rose by 1.1 per cent in the December quarter, the biggest quarterly gain in seven years. The annual rate of construction inflation rose from 1 per cent to 1.9 per cent – matching the fastest annual growth rate in four years.

Slow wage growth: The wage price index rose by 0.5 per cent in the December quarter, after a 0.6 per cent rise in the September quarter. Annual wage growth eased from 2.3 per cent to a record (18-year) low of 2.2 per cent.

S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO): The ASX200 has gone sideways for the past month. The good news is that 15 shares have beaten the index by a minimum of 10% in February. If you're a growth style investor, then these 15 companies require a closer look:

(Source:Commsec)

Saracen Mineral

Saracen is a gold miner with a strong financial position and excellent infrastructure situated in the North Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

Anglogold Ashanti Limited

AngloGold Ashanti is a gold miner that holds a portfolio of operations and projects on four continents. 

Beach Energy Limited

Beach Energy is an oil and gas company with tenements in Australia, Tanzania, New Zealand and Romania. Currently, the flagship operations are located in the Cooper/Eromanga Basins and Egypt.

Whitehaven Coal

Whitehaven Coal is a coal miner, with assets including the Werris Creek Mine, the Narrabri Mine, the Maules Creek Project and other projects.

IDP Education Limited

IDP Education provides international student placement services and high-stakes English language testing services. It also owns and operates English language schools in South East Asia.

Pacific Brands Limited

Pacific Brands is a consumer products company. Its best known brands are Bonds, Berlei, Jockey, Explorer and Hosiery.

Altium Limited

Altium is a computer software designer. The company's products include the Altium designer application, a web-based portal helping professional electronics designers connect with people and devices.

Sandfire Resources

Sandfire is a copper miner which owns the DeGrussa Copper-Gold Mine, located 900km north of Perth in Western Australia.

Mesoblast Limited

Mesoblast develops biological products for regenerative medicine. Its key focus is research and development of adult Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs), Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), Dental Pulp cells and Adipose cells.

St Barbara

St Barbara is a gold miner with mines in Western Australia and Papua New Guinea.

GWA International

GWA supplies building fixtures and fittings to households and commercial premises.

Nuplex Industries Limited

Nuplex produces resins and additives used in the formulation of surface coatings for consumer and industrial goods. 

Ainsworth Game Technologies Limited

Ainsworth designs gaming machines and other related equipment and services.

Syrah Resources

Syrah is a graphite mining company with assets located in south east Africa and Australia. Its flagship project is the Balama Graphite Project.

Freedom Foods Group Limited

Freedom Foods provides a range of products for consumers requiring a solution to specific dietary or medical conditions.

The post 15 growth shares crushing the S&P/ASX200 in February appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Commodities are on the way down and it's becoming apparent that investors are twigging to the risks and selling their shareholdings, accelerating the decline.

That's why so many of this week's losers are involved in resources:

Betashares Commodities Basket ETF-Currency Hedged (Synthetic) (ASX: QCB)

As if the name wasn't mouthful enough, Betashares Synthetic Commodity Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has also been a bitter pill to swallow for investors – it's down 31% for the year.

It's a similar situation at Betashares Gold Bullion (ASX: QAU) and MVGOLDMINE CDI 1:1 (ASX: GDX) – indexes representing gold bullion and gold miners respectively – which are down 16% and 21% in the past 12 months.

These falls have been matched by a broad range of commodity stocks including AngloGold Ashanti Limited (CHESS) (ASX: AGG) which has fallen 52% and Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) which has shed 78%.

The outlook for commodity markets in general is not bright and I would not buy any of these ETFs at today's prices. There may be individual stocks that are a bargain, but buying commodity ETFs could get you burned.

Sims Metal Management Ltd (ASX: SGM) – last traded at $9.20, down 17.5% for the year

Sims has fallen even further since last week's appearance and I'm not surprised, with the stock still appearing quite expensive.

A forward Price to Earnings (P/E) equation of 20 looks very pricey for a business that is expecting to generate most of its profit growth through cost savings in the coming few years.

The outlooks for copper, iron ore and steel (and thus recycled steel) continues to be quite weak while aluminium has also started edging downwards, while global economies stagnate. I'm just not confident enough to invest my money in Sims,  even though I believe the business is capable of significant cost savings.

I expect that Sims could fall further in the near term as markets weaken and/or if it fails to meet its ambitious savings targets.

OrotonGroup Limited (ASX: ORL) – last traded at $1.88, down 60% for the year

I'd hoped that I'd seen the last of OrotonGroup when I wrote about it in 52-week lows in March last year. I was virtually certain that was the case when the company posted a cracking full-year result, lifting revenue 25% and profit after tax by 15%.

Sadly, it wasn't to be. With one exception in mid-2006, Oroton is now trading at its lowest point in the past 10 years. After 2015's earnings forecast was downgraded to $4.5 million (compared to 2014's $13.3m), it's no surprise the stock took a tumble.

The fashion and consumer discretionary sector is phenomenally difficult to be in and it's one of the reasons I never bought OrotonGroup Limited when I had the opportunity last year.

With Australian wages set to fall and unemployment expected to rise over the coming years, I also can't see consumer discretionary business getting any easier. I do expect OrotonGroup to stage something of a turnaround, but it's not a buying opportunity.

The post 3 stocks at 52-week lows – can they turn it around? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Gold

For centuries, gold has fulfilled multiple roles including as an item of ornamentation, a currency and a store of wealth. It is mined in every Australian State and the Northern Territory and, therefore, all Australians benefit from this industry.

Gold is often considered an inflation hedge. Demand for gold generally increases during times of global financial and political crises as investors seek "safe assets".  The global financial crisis in 2007/08 created a major shift in the global gold market. Demand for the precious metal boomed as the meltdown occurred in the US economy and spread globally. Investors and speculators pushed the price to a peak of US$1921 per ounce ($/oz) in 2011, with many gold bulls predicting it may hit US$5,000/oz.

As you can see above, it didn't get anywhere near the US$5,000/oz mark, but the price has remained relatively strong around the US$1,100-1,200/oz. This price support could be linked to concerns about inflation from the huge quantitative easing programs of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. The European Central Bank was the last to jump on board the money printing bandwagon and started their program recently in March 2015.

It isn't just the investors and speculators fueling demand for gold. Central banks around the world became net buyers in 2010 which has continued through to 2015. In fact, the International Monetary Fund's 2014 annual report stated that gold comprised around 9% of global foreign exchange reserves, a cool US$1.1 trillion.

A potential US economic recovery and stronger US dollar were both seen as headwinds for the gold price in 2014, however, where the global economy heads in the future and what effect it has on the gold price is impossible to predict. The consequences of the massive quantitative easing programs of the US, Japan, and Europe are unknown and add to the uncertainty of the gold price and needs to be considered a risk for gold investors.

So what is gold?

Gold is a precious metal which can be found, in varying quantities, in almost every country around the world. According to the World Gold Council, in 2014 approximately 60% of the gold was used in jewellery, 20% for investments, 10% was purchased by central banks and 10% was consumed by industrial uses.

Most gold mined in Australia today is not visible to the naked eye. It is fine grained and is usually in average concentrations of less than 5 grams per tonne of rock – talk about finding a needle in a haystack!

To overcome this issue, the gold-bearing rock often requires a large amount of processing and needs to be crushed and milled to a fine size to release the gold. After this is completed and depending on the properties of the rock and gold, there are several processes that can be used to extract the gold. The most typical recovery methods are gravity separation, flotation circuits and leaching with cyanide.

Open-pit and underground mining methods are typical for gold mines depending mainly on the geometry and depth of the mineral resource. AngloGold Ashanti Limited's (ASX: AGG) Mponeng underground gold mine in South Africa reaches depths of almost 4km, making it the deepest mine in the world. With extreme depth comes extreme risk and the South African underground gold mines are notorious for injuries and deaths.

Costs within the gold industry have increased significantly over the past 10 years and there are a few important reasons why.

Firstly, the surging gold price made many projects feasible that would never have been considered a few years earlier. Mining projects have a nasty habit of costing more to run and producing less gold than originally designed. The recent decline in the gold price means these high-cost assets are struggling to make a profit.

Secondly, the average quality of the gold resources being discovered is decreasing, resulting in higher costs for gold extraction. A quick second glance at the gold price chart above makes this obvious – in 2005 the gold price was just US$400/oz and many companies were profitable. Now, just 10 years later, the gold price is above US$1,100/oz but many companies and gold mines are struggling.

The depreciation of the Aussie dollar has been a saving grace for many Australian gold miners who pay their operating costs in local currency but receive US dollars for their gold. This has effectively lowered their costs by around 15% over the past two years. Exchange rate risk works both ways and poses a risk, but it is expected the longer term trend of the Aussie dollar is down which will further benefit those companies with Australian assets.

How is it formed?

The geological formation of gold deposits is extremely varied and an advanced topic. For those interested, Geoscience Australia has some great references. A large proportion of Australian gold deposits can be found along old fault and shear zones within the earth's rock which allowed the transport and entrapment of mineral-rich fluids millions of years ago. This is described as lode gold and is typical of the WA goldfields including the Kalgoorlie super pit which has produced 16 million ounces of gold over the past 25 years. A diagram is shown below.

The big players

There are around 200 gold companies listed on the ASX with a market capitalisation of almost $20 billion, but the top 10 companies account for 80%.

Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) is Australia's largest gold miner producing over 2 million ounces in FY2014, making it the sixth largest gold miner in the world and well ahead of its other Australian peers Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Evolution FPO (ASX: EVN) who have annual production levels of approximately 550,000 oz and 430,000 oz, respectively.

Global gold majors operating in Australia include AngloGold Ashanti, Newmont and Gold Fields. Barrick, the world's largest gold miner, recently divested all of its Australian assets to focus on its key operations. The ten largest global gold producers are listed below.

Costs

The typical cost reported by gold mining companies is the all-in sustaining cost (AISC). Basically, it includes all costs relating to sustaining the company's current production level and can make it easier for investors to compare the efficiency and profitability of different mines.

AISC's and the average gold price received in 2014 for Newcrest, Northern Star, Evolution and higher cost gold-miner Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) are shown below. It is clear that Silver Lake is currently running a marginal operation with the average gold price received barely covering the AISC's.

Summary

Despite the uncertainty around the future gold price, jewellery, technology and investment demand for the precious metal is expected to remain strong. Low-cost gold producers, as with all commodities, will be those most likely to reward shareholders in the future. In our next article, we'll look at the product sometimes know as 'black gold', coal.

For a less-risky investment outside of the mining industry, consider The Motley Fool's recent top dividend stock…

The post The Mining Investor's Handbook – Part 4 – Gold appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

1. The S&P/ ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has opened higher following gains on US markets overnight. The NASDAQ gained 0.8%, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 each added more than 0.3%. But the ASX 200 has reversed course and is currently trading flat.
2. Myer Holdings Limited (ASX: MYR) has seen its shares sink more than 7% to $2.29 after the department store retailer announced a 22.6% fall in net profit to $98.5 million for the 2014 financial year. The dividend also fell from 18 cents last year to 14.5 cents this year.
   While growth in same-store sales was low, costs have increased dramatically and Myer says it was unable to pass on cost increases to customers due to strong competition.The company says costs will continue to increase this financial year.
3. AngloGold Ashanti Limited (Chess) (ASX: AGG), a multi-exchange-listed gold miner, has announced a restructure of its business, which could see it de-list from the ASX. Shares in Anglo have dropped 16.2% to $3.10 in early trading. The company also plans to raise US$2.1 billion in equity to recapitalise its business.

   Who said gold miners were good businesses?

4. Tweet of the Day.
   

   Big banks may need $41b more capital, UBS says https://t.co/H7AiUY02nb via @FinancialReview

   — christopher joye (@cjoye) September 11, 2014

   
   Surprising that an ex-bank CEO, David Murray and head of the financial service inquiry may come down hard on Australia's big banks.

5. Stock of the Day – brought to you by Andrew Mudie is Australian Leisure & Entrtmt Pty Ltd (ASX: LEP). Otherwise known as the ALE Property Group, the company owns a large number of hotels, bottle shops and pubs leased to retailer Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW). For investors who like their dividends – you might want to read more here.

The post 5 things you need to know about the Australian sharemarket today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But someone forgot to tell that to these four gold miners because during the same time they climbed more than 30%! The market mantra had been "gold down, miners down", but those investors who stuck to the story rather than the headlines have made some impressive returns.

When gold stabilises, the story turns back to what each miner is doing. As a commodity, gold is like milk or a litre of petrol. Miners can't control the price, so they make gains by cutting costs and selling higher volumes.

—   Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM)

The largest ASX-listed gold miner has climbed almost 31% since mid-January. It officially opened its new Cadia East mine in May and gold production for its whole Cadia Valley operation is expected to rise to 700,000 ounces in FY 2016 and even more in FY 2017. It has a dividend yield of 1.1% unfranked and its 23 price/earnings ratio is at the lower range of its historical PE average.

—   AngloGold Ashanti Limited (CHESS) (ASX: AGG)

The multi-national miner has increased gold production through its new Tropicana mine in WA, in which it owns a 70% stake. In the first three years of production, estimates are the mine will produce about 470,000 – 490,000 ounces annually. The stock has risen about 36% and offers a 1.6% yield unfranked.

—   Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)

The stock is up a whopping 82% from $0.95 to $1.73. The WA miner announced in June its Pegasus project resource has more than doubled, which is forecast to add 50,000 ounces per annum production by mid-calendar year 2015. That will increase the total Kundana project's (51% owned by NST) annual production to about 125,000 ounces. Its dividend yield is 1.6% fully franked.

—  Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO)

This company mines gold, zinc, copper and nickel and is also 30% owner of the new Tropicana mine in a joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti. Its share price has climbed more than 48% since mid-January. In early July, it announced that production was more than expected, pushing up the stock to a new 52-week high of $4.90. Tropicana mine production was up 10% on the March quarter for the joint venture. The dividend yield is 1.0% fully franked.

The post 4 of the best miners to consider for long-term horizons appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.