agree DKGR - gold is at new highs and said to reach $2000 by 2010
Gold Prices May Reach $2,000 by 2010, U.S. Gold's McEwen says
March 6 (Bloomberg)
-- Gold prices may reach $2,000 an ounce by 2010 on demand for an alternative to currencies, U.S. Gold Corp. Chief Executive Officer Robert McEwen said.
``You have much more money than there is gold, and as people see their currencies falling relative to gold, they're going to be saying `Maybe I should have some of this','' McEwen, the former CEO of Goldcorp Inc., said today after a presentation at a mining conference in Toronto. ``And you have an industry that's consolidated, so you have less product and more buying.''
McEwen is betting he will find a large gold deposit in Nevada between properties owned by Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. U.S. Gold yesterday made hostile bids for four exploration companies near its Tonkin Springs property in Nevada's Cortez Hills Trend region. Gold reached a 25-year high last month of $579.50 on Feb. 2. The metal rose to a record $873 in January 1980.
``There's the opportunity to create the premiere exploration company in Nevada by having a large land package with good liquid trading and a large exploration program,'' McEwen,55, said. U.S. Gold is based in Lakewood, Colorado.
U.S. Gold's site would encompass a 36 square-mile area near the Cortez Hills property to be acquired by Barrick after completing a $10.1 billion takeover of Placer Dome Inc. Mining companies are buying rivals as new reserves become more difficult to find.
``I think we have a really good shot, and multiple shots, of finding another Cortez Hills discovery,'' McEwen said.
U.S. Gold is offering to buy White Night Resources Ltd., Nevada Pacific Gold Ltd., Coral Gold Resources Ltd. and Tone Resources Ltd. for a combined $266.7 million in stock. U.S. Gold, which raised $75 million last month from investors, plans to spend $30 million in the next two years to explore for gold on Tonkin Springs.
Shares of U.S. Gold rose 59 cents, or 10 percent, to $6.24 over the counter. They have gained 81 percent this year.
McEwen stepped down as Goldcorp CEO a year ago after the mining company combined with Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. Ian Telfer, Wheaton's CEO, took over the combined company.