Thursday, March 31, 2011

Kinross (K.to) (KGC) in LatAm and that old deja vu all over again feeling

 Oh, that's impressive. Bugger all PPS growth in a major gold miner over five 
years during the biggest baddest bull run for gold....like...ever

Last night we had news out of Kinross:
QUITO, March 30 (Reuters) - Canada's Kinross Gold (K.TO: Quote) will invest $1.1 billion in Ecuador's Fruta del Norte gold project until 2016 and could begin digging an underground mine next year, a company executive said on Wednesday.
Dominic Channer, a vice president of the Toronto-based firm, said gold production could begin at the site in 2014.
Kinross says Fruta del Norte has proven and probable mineral reserves estimated at 6.8 million ounces of gold and 9.1 million ounces of silver, and that it should produce 410,000 gold equivalent ounces on average each year during yada yada continues here

All glorious thrusting stuff from Kinross and it immediately reminded your author of another Reuters news story he'd read....back in April 2007.

Kinross Gold expects Cerro Casale development- CEO
(Reuters) - Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) expects to develop the big Cerro Casale gold and copper deposit in Chile, with remaining questions centering on when and how, not if, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.
The Canadian miner acquired a 49 percent stake in the property when it acquired Bema Gold earlier this year. It is one of the world's largest undeveloped gold and copper deposits, with estimated reserves of 23 million ounces of gold and 6 billion pounds of copper.
"I think realistically if it takes a year to get sorted out on the plan, then it takes two years in construction, so you start thinking about it in production terms 3-4 years out," CEO Tye Burt told Reuters in yada yada continues here.

Golly gosh, Cerro Casale must be producing gold and selling it at $1400+/oz now, right? We're almost exactly four years on from that "3 to 4 years out" prediction from Kinross CEO Tye Burt, after all.

What's that you say? Surely not! They sold a chunk to Barrick and only own 25% now, you say? And still no build decision made on Cerro Casale? That's strange, because it's hardly likely that the CEO of a world class gold miner would SPOUT UTTER BULLSHIT TO FOOL HIS AUDIENCE,  is it? 

But this time at Fruta del Norte it's different. Of course. Oh yes yes yes yes.