I'd venture to guess that "I didn't do it" has to be among the most commonly told fibs on the planet.
If gold miner Agnico-Eagle
With gold spending a surprising amount of time below $800, I fully expected this third quarter to be a challenging one. Megaminer Barrick Gold
Higher costs have been a common theme as the prices for base metals like zinc and lead -- which typically lessen the costs of gold production through byproduct accounting -- have fallen precipitously. This zinc effect put a major strain on Agnico's second-quarter results, too, and has affected diversified miners like Teck Cominco
Agnico-Eagle raised gold production by 23% over the year-ago quarter as the new Goldex mine began commercial production and the Kittila mine in Finland is deep into its commissioning. Agnico paired this increased production with an impressive cash cost of $240 per ounce -- half that just reported by Newmont. As Kittila begins to hit its stride, Agnico expects record gold production in the fourth quarter.
To be sure, Agnico lost some money on investments during the quarter. Meanwhile, the company ended up with a $40 million gain and 760,000 shares of Goldcorp
While we wait for gold and zinc prices to go back up, my only message to Agnico-Eagle is, again: Keep up the good work.
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