Editor’s Note: Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG), Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM), Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI)
Investors Increase Pressure on Barrick for Board Change (Wall Street Journal)
Investors are increasing the pressure on Barrick Gold Corp. to shake up its board and quicken founder Peter Munk’s exit from the world’s largest gold miner, triggering boardroom tensions, according to people familiar with the matter. These large investors say they have told Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) that it must bring in new independent directors soon. Some are also pushing for Mr. Munk, one of Canada’s best-known businessmen, to set a date for handing the reins to his co-chairman, John Thornton. Amid such demands, some directors have sought change at a faster pace than others have been comfortable with, according to investors who have been briefed on the situation and one person familiar with the company’s thinking.
Goldcorp’s Telfer, OSC reach proposed settlement over share sale deal (The Globe and Mail)
Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG) chairman Ian Telfer has reached a proposed settlement with staff of the Ontario Securities Commission involving allegations he acted contrary to the public interest in a share sale transaction. The OSC said Tuesday it will hold a hearing Friday to consider a settlement agreement with Mr. Telfer. The commission did not reveal any terms of the settlement, which will not be made public until it is approved by a hearing panel. Mr. Telfer was named as a small player in a much larger alleged insider-trading case that centred on a former executive assistant at brokerage firm GMP Securities. The assistant, Eda Marie Agueci, is accused of tipping friends and family members about takeover deals she learned about in her job at GMP.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) on comeback trail (GSPInsider)
The market news last week had it that there is some new opportunity for buying gold stocks. This might be the case, but this week, things seemed to have changed a bit. It looks like mining companies like Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) are now open to testing their lows. The buying opportunity has thus been deferred and speculators and investors will have to hold their horses. There are some distinct reasons why this retest is all set to come in. But this could well be the mark of the final bottom and present an excellent buying opportunity. Last weekend was the turning point and gold stocks started craning their necks and looked a little brighter.
Newmont to sell Nevada operation (Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly)
US gold major Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) on Tuesday announced it had inked a letter of intent to sell its Midas operation, in Nevada, to Waterton Global Resource Management. Newmont said the move to explore the sale of the operation was consistent with its strategy to deliver value to shareholders and strengthen its portfolio by divesting noncore assets. “Waterton has established a presence in Nevada and is well positioned to enable Midas’s success over the long term by using its processing, and other assets, to support Waterton’s operations in Nevada,” Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) VP for strategic development Randy Engel said.
Barrick Gold shares could surge from activist interest-Barron’s (Reuters)
Top global gold miner Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), whose shares have declined by nearly half this year, could see its stock rebound if it attracts an activist shareholder who prompts management to quicken its pace in shedding assets, according to a report in Monday’s edition of Barron’s. Toronto-based Barrick could be “targeted by many activist funds,” the Barron’s said. Barrick’s management has pledged to show more capital discipline instead of concentrating on growth, a move that could lure activist shareholders to the company’s shares, the newspaper said. It cited an analysis by Indiana-based investment firm Two Fish Management as saying Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) could unlock shareholder value by selling or spinning off mining operations outside the Americas, and by putting its Nevada-based mining assets into a master limited partnership vehicle.
Gold Fields saga could shock Cecil John Rhodes (BDlive)
This week, finally, Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI) conceded that it may be facing some serious regulatory challenges. The transnational gold digger announced that it “has been informed that it is the subject of a regulatory investigation in the United States by the US Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] relating to the black economic empowerment transaction associated with the granting of the mining licence for its South Deep operation”.
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