METALS STOCKS Gold futures rise after US dollar falls vs. rivals …

METALS STOCKS Gold futures rise after US dollar falls vs. rivals MarketWatch - 59 minutes ago Late in the trading day, the dollar got a lift from sagging crude oil futures and bounced back against major rivals, after slumping earlier as …

Commodity Online releases report on Chinese gold

Commodity Online has published a report on the gold mining situation in China.

According to the website, China is set to become the largest gold producing country in the world, eventually pushing South Africa into second place.

In particular, Commodity Online studied the Xinjiang area of China was reportedly has an estimated gold resources of 207.48 tonnes and it estimated to produce a further 100 tonnes within the next couple of years.

Xinjiang is made up of three vast mountains named Kunlun, Tianshan and Altay and two basins called Tarim and Jungarr.

That there are 72 ditches in the mountain and a popular saying attached to the Atlay mountain is that each is filled with gold and jewels.

Of the 171 known ores in China, 138 are found in the district.

Since ancient times has Xinjiang been known for its supply of gold and is called the Home of Gems and Jade.

In other news, a minor earthquake hit the Sichuan province of China on Friday, measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale.

Scale developed to weigh gold atoms

Scientist in the US have claimed to have developed a nanoelectromechanical scale system which is so sensitive it can measure - at room temperature - the mass of a single atom of gold.

Physicist Alex Zettl holds a joint appointment at the Energy Department’s Berkeley Lab and the University of California-Berkeley and led the research with researchers Kenneth Jensen and Kwanpyo Kim.

The carbon nanotube mass sensor was able to weigh separate gold atoms and also measure objects which were two-fifths the size of a gold atom in just over one second.

Mr Zettl said: "The Holy Grail of [nanoelectromechanical systems] has been to push them to a small enough size with high enough sensitivity so that they might resolve the mass of a single molecule or even single atom."

He said this has previously been difficult to achieve even at cryogenic temperatures.

Cold temperatures means thermal noise is reduced which in turn means increased sensitivity.

In other science news, water has been finally identified in soil samples from Mars.

Archaeology museum to open in Gaza

Jawdat Khoudary is to open Gaza’s first museum of archaeology this month, according to media for freedom.

Mr Khoudary said: "The idea is to show our deep roots from many cultures in Gaza.

"It’s important that people realise we had a good civilization in the past. Israel has legitimacy from its history. We do too."

Mr Khoudary owns a construction company and has asked his employees to save for him anything they might come across while digging.

On display in the museum will be items of gold, vases from the Bronze Age, Roman anchors and arrowheads.

In other news, a jeweller and goldsmith from San Diego has donated an award winning gold ring to the Gemological Institute of America Museum.

The 22-karat, hand fabricated ring was given to the museum by Joanna Seetoo Schiele. In 1995 it won the American Gem Trade Association Spectrum award.

Ms Seetoo Schiele said she decided to present the ring to the museum as a way to inspire future generations of jewellers.

Expert gives jewellers tips to fight rising prices

Timothy Malone, from the Gemological Institute of America, has given tips on JCKonline to help jewellers during the current unsettled financial climate.

He told jewellers not to cut staff members. Instead, businesses should use event marketing to attract more footfall into the store.

For example, Mr Malone said jewellers should call loyal customers and invite them for personalised showings or VIP shopping experiences.

He suggested customers bring in their collections of jewellery as a way to identify what is missing from their wardrobe and make recommendations.

Mr Malone said: "Women with predominantly yellow gold jewellery, for example, seem to respond well to new pieces that combine white and yellow gold to complement their existing jewellery pieces."

Keeping an eye on current fashion trends among celebrities is also a way to make relevant jewellery offerings to potential customers.

The Gemological Institute of America was established in 1931 and is an organisation for gemological research and learning about jewellery and gems.

Abandoned gold auctioned off for schools

Residents of Tampa Bay have come up with an original way to raise funds for public school education.

An auction has been arranged for this Saturday to sell items abandoned in safe deposit boxes in the state’s banks.

Total value for the hoard collected is estimated to be worth $500,000 (£253,303).

Among the items there are gold earrings, an Australian gold coin collection and a Rolex watch.

For 2008, the sum total of all the abandoned bank accounts and deposit boxes in the state reached $312 million.

According to Jerri Franz - a spokesman for Florida’s chief financial officer - said the owners of the majority of the objects have either left the state or have died.

The idea to auction off the goods for schools has been occurring since 1961 and has so far raised over $1.7 billion.

Visitors to Tampa Bay this weekend can also take a look at the Florida Aquarium or the Busch Gardens Africa.

Klondike Gold reports project updates

Klondike Gold has announced updates for its gold projects in the south east of British Columbia.

The Clubine property - north of Salmo - is to have a second phase of drilling started at the site to test for gold zones and to find out the depth and strike of the surface mineralised structures.

Gold targets have been found following exploration on the Red Point property. For example, the Cathedral vein was discovered - a high grade gold-quartz bearing vein.

So far, samples from Cathedral have reported a grading of 46g/t of gold.

A field programme has been suggested for the Ron Gold property which has reported in the past values of 0.8g/t of gold.

Klondike Gold has properties throughout the mining districts of Canada.

The company said its exploration strategy is "to start at the high-risk end of the spectrum".

It follows this plan because "A successful drill hole … can add extremely high value in relation to the relatively modest amount of capital initially risked."

Sutter plans to raise nearly $4 million for exploration

Sutter Gold Mining has announced it wants to raise between $1.95 million (£987,451) and $3.9 million in order to further explore the Sutter Gold mine.

It hopes to raise this money through a private placement of stock and the funds will also be used for general working capital.

The company said it is prepared to sell between 18,181,810 and 36,363,636 units for 10.7 cents each.

Each of the units will involve one share and a warrant giving the owner the opportunity to buy one-half common share at 14.5 cents in two years.

Earlier, Sutter Gold Mining announced the sale of 49.9 per cent of its shares by the US Energy Corporation to RMB Resources.

RMB Resources is part of the FirstRand Bank of South Africa.

In other news, the Hunt Gold exploration and mining company announced it has received several buyout offers.

One of the bids it regards as a "serious takeover offer".

Production starts for Yanacocha mine

Minera Yanacocha SRL has announced its gold mill has started gold production.

Between April and June this year the mine in Peru produced 77,416 ounces of gold.

The company said the mine had produced 442,000 ounces of gold for the second quarter of 2008 in comparison to 303,000 ounces of gold produced during the same quarter last year.

"That was mainly due to an increase of tons placed on leaching pads, and to higher grade ore, among other factors," said Minera Yanacocha.

Yanacocha is the second largest mine in Latin America and is managed by the Newmont Mining Corporation which has a 51.35 per cent stake.

Of the remaining interest, the Peruvian mining firm Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA (BVN) holds 43.65 per cent and the International Finance Corporation has five per cent.

The site is located in the Andes Mountains, 375 miles from Lima and 30 miles north of Cajamarca.

Tot ‘wins’ gold jewellery voucher

A one-year-old child has become the youngest winner of the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group’s (DGJG) Glittering Surprises campaign, Al Babawa reports.

The United Arab Emirates news source reported that Sairish Sajeer will be presented with AED 10,000 (£1,379) worth of gold and jewellery vouchers.

Her parents, who have lived in Dubai for the past five years, are said to be "delighted" by the prize.

Established in 1996, DGJG now boasts more than 700 members, all of which work to promote the jewellery industry in Dubai through retail, wholesale, manufacturing and bullion.

The group works to help maintain the standard retail gold price in the city and also organises Dubai’s annual City of Gold conference, which hosts jewellery traders from throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world.

It also offers its Dubai Pavilion to its members, who exhibit their wares at the facility at other international jewellery exhibitions, including the Hong Kong International Jewellery Fair.

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