• Gold index up 1.5% after price rise overnight on flat US dollar
  • Northern Star rises after appointing Rio’s Marnie Finlayson as non-executive director
  • Bellevue Gold says it remains on time and budget at gold mine of the same name

 

The unwanted bastard of the commodity space over the past couple of years, gold miners have made a star turn today, with most of the ASX precious metals miners in the green as materials stocks added 0.5% on the market.

Prices rose 0.7% to lift above US$1720/oz overnight as the US dollar flattened, with the S&P ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index up 1.51%.

The sector’s value remains just half of its peak in August 2020, but three times above its collective market cap during the downturn in gold prices between 2013 and 2015.

Leading the way today was Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), which added a senior female name to its board of directors in Marnie Finlayson.

In case you were wondering, the head of battery metals at Rio Tinto is indeed the sister of Raleigh Finlayson, the former managing director of Northern Star who abdicated his board seat earlier this year lest he come into conflict with his former company at new firm Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD).

Marnie Finlayson is a high-flyer, previously general manager of Rio’s ill-fated Jadar lithium mine in Serbia and a senior operator and executive in the Pilbara giant’s iron ore business, all terrific attributes for someone on the board of an ASX 50 gold company.

That said the mining industry, especially where Kalgoorlie and WA’s School of Mines is concerned, remains a very small place indeed.

 

Monstars share price today:

 

 

Bellevue keeps costs in line on Leinster mine

Lifting prodigiously by almost 5% was Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL), which continues to say it remains on time and budget on the build of its new 200,000ozpa gold mine in the northern Goldfields.

The Leinster mine, where Bellevue plans to produce gold at a fraction of the carbon intensity of the industry average, is due to pour its first gold next year.

Today it awarded another key contract for the mine, enlisting RUC Mining to deliver $15.8m worth of raiseboring services over the next 28 months to establish ventilation and escapeways in the underground mine.

The company says 90% of its pre-production capex is already locked in, with the mine remaining on time and budget.

Improved development rates since the introduction of Bill Beament’s jumbo crews have also helped, averaging 61% higher each month at 342m since Develop (ASX:DVP) came in during May, with a record 363m of development completed in August.

“We are delighted that RUC has joined our team of tier-one contractors, adding to the vast experience and specialist skills we are assembling at the project,” BGL MD Steve Parsons said.

“Having the best possible team on site helps ensure we will continue to execute our development plan, which remains on time and on budget with 90 per cent of our pre-production contracts locked in.

“The record development rates being recorded are also playing a key role in the precise execution of our strategy, providing further evidence that we are well on track to be the next major ASX gold producer with low operating costs and a 10-year-plus mine life.”

 

Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price today:

 

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