Plunging Gold Price Has Mining Companies Selling at Loss

Gold fell to a four-year intraday low of $1,137.10 an ounce today, below production costs for seven of 19 mining companies tracked by Bloomberg Intelligence, including Harmony Gold Mining Co., South Africa’s third-largest producer, and Primero Mining Corp. (P) Two more producers are within $50 of the figure.

“What’s developing is almost a two-tier type of market,” John Ing, chief executive officer at brokerage Maison Placements Canada Inc., said by phone. One tier has companies with good assets and lower costs, while the other comprises producers “who are saddled with high-cost operations” and stretched balance sheets.

Read More:www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-05/plunging-gold-price-has-mining-companies-selling-at-loss.html