Mining NZ September 2017

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8 Mining NZ » Spring 2017
Gold » Industry News
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Gold plots its own course
Hugh de Lacy
The antics of US President Donald Trump
should have investors world-wide scrambling
for the safety of gold but the price, at around
$US1290/oz ($NZ1686/oz), suggests they’re
largely unfazed by his behaviour.
Indeed, having risen little and retired quickly
in response to the posturing of Mr Trump and
North Korean leader Kim Il Jong earlier in the
month, gold went almost comatose for a while
in late August.
The precious metal had a 120-day volatility
rate of barely 10 percent, the lowest in 15
years, compared to a flighty 18% earlier in the
year as the twin bombs of Trump’s election
and the British vote to quit the European union
pushed the price up nearly 10% in the first
quarter.
Those gains, which hiked the precious
metal to around $US1260/oz ($NZ1765/
oz), have since consolidated, and the next
breakthrough mark will be $US1300/oz
($NZ1700/oz).
Gold’s uncharacteristic imperviousness to
the almost daily raft of Trump-inspired potential
panics seemed to suggest it’s in no hurry to
break through that level.
A part of this resistance to panic driving a
general flight into gold may be the market’s
taking into account the generally positive
outlook for the US economy, signalled by a
strengthening greenback, and in part it may
reflect Trump’s steady descent into political
insignificance.
That gold hasn’t gone through the roof - or
at least sailed through the $US1300/oz mark
- on the back of the American political turmoil
suggests that Trump and his administration are
already becoming irrelevant to this bellwether
of the American and global economies.
Gold being gold, that could all change in
a heartbeat, but, as we enter the southern
spring, gold’s heart seems to be beating at an
unusually steady and measured pace.
Peter Owens
Comprehensive book
on New Zealand gold
A comprehensive coverage of all the settings
for gold mineralisation in New Zealand has been
provided in Monograph 31 now being released by
the AusIMM.
The new book takes in all other minerals
being sought in New Zealand, but gold obviously
dominates the coverage.
Author of the work is Dr Tony Christie of GNS
Science who has trekked the length and breadth
of New Zealand in recent decades to record and
sample all types of mineralisation.
Called “Mineral Deposits of New Zealand:
Exploration and Research” this new publication is
available in book and PDF format.
It takes in more than 500 pages, with section
contributions from more than 100 of the country’s
leading mineral experts. It contains a large
number of maps, figures and photos in full colour.
An acknowledgement in the forward is given
by Christie to Bob Brathwaite, “as his colleague,
mentor and friend for more than 35 years”.
Together they produced some of the definitive
scientific papers on NZ minerals.
Many industry people supported the
production of Monograph 31 and a key publishing
sponsor was OceanaGold Corporation.
Among the subject matters covered are
orogenic gold deposits, with other authors
including Geoff Price, Doug McKenzie, Dave
Craw and Simon Cox; epithermal gold, with other
contributors including Richard Barker, Simon
Henderson and Peter Grieve; and placer gold,
with other contributors including John Youngson,
Richard Cotton and Warren Batt.
Coverage of submarine hydrothermal systems
takes in Cornel de Ronde.
There are sections on non-gold deposits
including ironsand, with contributors including
Peter Vidanovich and Jeff Mauk; while
nickel-copper, platinum group metals include
contributions by Rob Brathwaite and Nick
Mortimer.
The AusIMM is marketing the book through its
services website Ausmm
It is also available through the NZ branch of the
AusIMM.
Tony Christie