Ballarat Gold Share Discussion Threads

[arja] 13/1/2006 18:53

Yes 12vic, great to see and I hope BGF reacts this time and moves up to 43 or 44 cents ! I hold LHG( gold) and OXR( gold and copper) warrants in OZ and they should do well on Monday . But you never know with markets and no truer saying than " expect the unexpected" !! What did surprise was the sale of about 618,000 shares in BGF at 17 ( MM bid price) AFTER gold price took off! really weird !

[12vic] 13/1/2006 16:01

Goodbye $550 gold - $555 before the day is out ? Yes Arja it looks like consolidation is the word for BGF at the moment .

[arja] 13/1/2006 08:24

hope so . still at 41 cents in OZ and hopefully just consolidating before moving higher . spot gold $546.5 as I type so holding up well. Have a pleasant weekend .

[12vic] 12/1/2006 20:01

Hello Arja ,

Gold nearing $550 again , looking forward to the quarterly results which should come fairly soon and will hopefully include an update on drilling as well some comment on initial production .

[arja] 12/1/2006 11:48

closed at 40.5-41. a bit disappointing but quite a few gold stocks fell last night in spite of higher gold price !

[arja] 11/1/2006 09:26

good morning 12vic,
Yes, gold bouncing around but still seems to be in uptrend with trendline at about $535 if it goes lower. BGF at 41-41.5 and , as with most gold stocks, is hostage to the gold price. You make valid poinnts about profitability even at lower gold price but it does not seem to matter much when gold price slips.

[12vic] 10/1/2006 16:16

Bit disappointing to see gold retracing yesterdays gains now at $541 , I had hoped that achieving $550 would breach a price barrier and send it even higher . Appears at the moment that the opposite has happened and instead plenty of people selling down . That said this may just be a blip as occurred last week , general trend as you suggest is up . Of course too much fixation with actual gold price overlooks the fact that most producers have profitable cost per ounce figures at less than half the current gold price and many may not have expected to achieve current prices so early in the year .

[arja] 10/1/2006 13:47

Interesting spot gold chart on CMC site and shows a fall to about $535 where it will hit the uptrend line again . So still seems to be in firm uptrend after that recent fall to $488. I hope the possible dip in next few days( if it happens! ) will not affect BGF too much .

[arja] 10/1/2006 09:25

12vic,
Most of the gold stocks came off the boil last night with BGF quote 41.5-42 at close . It held up fairly well . Gold at $545 so maybe just consolidating before next move up . Hope so !

[12vic] 10/1/2006 07:29

Arja - Not quite the movement I anticipated last night , and volume back to 6 million level . Some good news in the form of an increased holding announcement with Mason Hill asset management now controlling 110,000,000 or approximately 9.5 % of company . I'm not sure where but I did read recently that 60% of the company is now owned by institutions .

3windy - The share tripled last year from 6 - 18p on the movement towards production . The Ballarat East project which is the nearest to full production , is one of 4 sites which the company potentially might bring on line . BGF is cash rich at the moment so the development opportunity is obviously very large . If production proves to meet expectations over the next 6 months or so I see this share moving quite quickly , some have suggested it might double in 2006 , I think it may do far better than that .

[arja] 09/1/2006 23:28

12vic,
i did sell some of my BGf at 42.5 as gold stocks started well but now weakening . I play safety first although I think the OZ market may pick up later . BGF now 42-42.5 at 11.27 . If gold price kicks on tomorrow , I will regret my decision !

[arja] 09/1/2006 22:38

thanks for the aricle - interesting reading and I should take more note of the fundamentals . I get the indicative opening price on westpac broking site . it is only 42.5 as I type this at 10.30pm with surplus volume of - 81121 meaning opening quote showing buyers at 42 and sellers at 42.5 . Of course this can change a great deal before kick off in half an hour. But a lot to seel at all price levels but this is high volume stock and buyers do not always show their hnad and may be waiting in the wings ! Hope it goes up a few cents and a higher Uk price tomorrow !Hope I can keep eyes open for an hour or so more !!

[3windy] 09/1/2006 22:31

12vic...have been looking at this for a while.how far do you think it can go re SP

[12vic] 09/1/2006 22:27

Not sure what can be read from preopen prices on ASX but here they are anyway

Code Last $ +/- Bid Offer Open High Low Volume Options Warrants Chart Status Announcements
BGF 0.425 0.000 0.450 0.420 0.000 0.000 0.000

Bid is shown at 0.45 and offer 0.42 , looks like it may have a good start .

[12vic] 09/1/2006 22:16

Looks like I will have to stick with the Aim Listing . I'm sitting on a large profit now so it makes it less of a hardship to ride the mm's charges .

This article from the weekends Age may interest you -

Ballarat really digs its new gold
January 7, 2006

It's not exactly bullion fever, but Ballarat, home of the Eureka spirit, is back on the map as a producer, writes Steve Waldon.

We are only 200 metres down, but it might as well be the centre of the Earth - albeit less exotic than Jules Verne depicted it.

Verne embellished the underground beyond what was plausible, but what he did get right is the other-worldliness.

We have been driven down what Ballarat Goldfields (BGF) has dubbed the First Chance Decline, to a subterranean cavity where the only light is the silvery-blue coming from our helmet lamps and the yellow glow of tail lights on heavy machinery. It would be too much to say that gold fever has returned to Ballarat, but according to BGF's corporate manager, Joel Forwood, the revival of gold production has produced strong community support.

"There hasn't been gold production here since 1918, but Ballarat still strongly identifies as a gold-mining town, home of the Eureka spirit," he says.

Mr Forwood and senior mining engineer John Kerr have brought us underground at the company's Ballarat East project, following a recent report in The Age that BGF had poured its first gold bar - a symbolic event in its vision for a resumption of mining activity.

You don't just wander down to where drills are biting into the earth; there are protocols to acknowledge and preparations to observe. We pull on white coveralls and gumboots. Then we add a fluorescent safety vest, safety goggles and a helmet.

We are handed a heavy belt, on to which is fixed the battery for the helmet lamp, and a curious container that looks like a binoculars case but contains something called the self-rescuer - a basic breathing device, with a clamp for the nose, a mouthpiece such as you would find on a snorkel, and a bag that uses a chemical process to eliminate carbon dioxide. Depending on your stamina, this unit could give you an hour of breathable air - hopefully enough time to be guided out of the mine if the unthinkable happens.

Which is the last thing on our minds as we descend, easily at first, in a twin-cabin utility. Then the gradient becomes more pronounced, and the narrow road more rock-strewn and etched by rivulets of running water. When we leave the vehicle and walk 100 metres downhill to where a powered, truck-mounted drill is idling, the only other noise is made by drips from the ceiling and the regular slurping of a hose pumping unwanted water away.

On the left of the tunnel are lines taking usable water and compressed air deep into the tunnels, and on the right is a line carrying 11,000 volts of electricity, which is "managed" to suit machinery requirements through a series of substations.

The tunnel walls are coated in spray-on concrete, and what little light we can generate works hard to penetrate the stygian gloom. Goldmining was not always like this, although the desire to extract gold has been undiminished for thousands of years. That truth is driven from our heads by the arrival of a tip-truck, the sound of its engine pulsing along the tunnel walls. This mechanical monster of the dry deep takes on a load of boulders and heads back to the surface.

Mr Forwood says it is expected to cost $55 million to fully commission this project, and it is hoped full production will continue for 20 years. Already, miners are working around the clock, which is divided into two shifts. An underground worker might do five shifts of 12 hours, then take four days off.

Despite advances in mechanisation and technology, burrowing away in an environment not made for humans can be punishing work. There is a pervasive feeling of unreality, which you anticipate might be heightened by the time these tunnels are more than 800 metres underground.

Back on the surface, developments in engineering, computer technology and understanding of geology enhance the project's viability. BGF staff have data that was not available to their mining forebears. They have a surface geochemical map of alluvial gold deposits, mapping of old mine shafts by Geological Survey of Victoria, and the results of the company's test drilling in the 1980s and now.

From this is constructed a three-dimensional computer model that shows the Ballarat East project is working under the diggings that pocked the area from the 1850s until 1917.

The model shows geologists and engineers where to dig, which means mining has left the realm of speculation and calculated guesswork and moved into an era of accurate predictions. That saves time and money - and on a venture such as this, they are resources almost as precious as the one being sought.

[arja] 09/1/2006 21:17

12vic,
i just noticed on market maker with deal4 free that gold hit $551- good call by you .
Re . OZ broker , a tricky one . I think it will be almost impossible to find one who allow non-resident clients. it is such a parochial attitude and utterly ridicuous( any other business takes customers from anywhere !!). I have accounts with online brokers only because I lived in OZ most of life and daughter still there at University in W.A. Hence I still have Aussie address and will return "home " in next year or so . I pay $20 a trade ( cheapest is £18 I think) so much the same as here without SD and spread . I can give you a list of most of the online brokers if you wish ( you may know them anyway through google ) and you could check their sites and maybe one is less parochial . Sorry for this negative response . It is a real pain in the proverbial! if you had a close relative there , maybe you could use their address ? just a thought but even that might strike obstacles when you joined .

[12vic] 09/1/2006 19:33

Gold just soared through $550 , now at $551.40 . Interesting about Bendigo , as I understand it Bendigo's land is fairly close ( in general terms ) to the Ballarat Goldfields . I'm not certain whether Bendigo is currently producing at the moment ?

I too am fed up with MM's can you recommend a reasonably priced Oz broker that allows overseas accounts ?

[arja] 09/1/2006 19:07

Hope you are right and we see even higher gold levels . It was quite volatile today dipping to about 534 at one time before recovering ! I will keep at least some BGF as long as the chart tells me to and still in uptrend although always has a dip before kicking on. I notice the MMs kept it inline with OZ closing price today whereas yesterday they anticipated the likely movement down under . They are a nuisance and why I of course prefer to trade this stock in OZ normally!
There are some great looking charts for some gold stocks in OZ but I do not think any are listed here- eg Bendigo gold which rocketed last night !
Good luck!

[12vic] 09/1/2006 18:22

I think if BGF were in full production this might be a different story and there would be a more profound movement with the gold price . Having said that Gold is very close to the $550 level which surely must have a serious psychological impact for many investors ( figures of $600/650 for the year ahead have been readily banded around in many speculative reports ). I would not be suprised if BGF put on a few cents tonight moving closer to the 45 mark - could be some interesting trading . All the best !

[arja] 09/1/2006 09:40

Hi 12vic,
Yes, it put on 2.5 cents but seems to find it difficult to move quickly ! I am still holding as chart looks promising . some of the gold stocks roared and I played the LHG warrants . A pity that only a few covered warrants here in the UK whereas all the main OZ stocks have a number of warrants to choose from with good leverage ! Have a good day .

[12vic] 09/1/2006 07:36

Looking good for today , 42.5 in Oz + gold at $543 . A nice turn of fortune for you Arja !

[arja] 07/1/2006 23:47

Yes 12vic, , surprising reversal in gold price now challenging resistance at $540. I failed to sell my BGF in OZ when it opened as it quickly dipped to 40 cents ! hopefully it was a good break and BGF will be strong on Monday . But it does not seem to always follow gold price. enjoy your weekend .

[12vic] 06/1/2006 18:16

Interesting day today , Oz market down but UK moving up with more private investor activity than usual - some buys at 18.5 p . Miraculous swing recovery for Gold . Did you hold or sell the shares in Oz Arja ?

[12vic] 05/1/2006 18:35

Arja - totally agree about MMs .

I don't think gold will drift off as strongly as it did last time we reached the $530 level , as I write currently at $526 but I think has been lower today already so looks like some resistance to dramatic drop may have kicked in .

Price of gold aside I see no other reason why Oz investors might sell now especially when the quarterly report is literally just on the horizon and should considering the circumstances be very upbeat . There may be large profit takers but I think most of these would have sold when the shares first hit 42 some few days ago .

As to your point regarding speculative shares , I can think of plenty of examples that would fit your model one being RTM which you may be familiar with . BGF is also speculative at this point as production although started is as yet unproven , and this is the risk attached to the most rewarding entry point of most shares , great success or great failure . I had brief concerns when one of the directors sold some shares at 36 cents just shortly after the first gold pour was announced , but having researched his holding I have dismissed them . If someone's entitled to a reward after moving the company forward then let them take it as an incentive to create further value still.

Whether I'm right or not is of course another matter , but what remains is it has been a pleasure to read your comments on BGF and hopefully you'll still be following progress . Enjoy your profits Arja !