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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

New York spot gold closed up $9.60 to $1,201.50 Wednesday, rising as the U.S. dollar fell and China released a disappointing first-quarter GDP report. The Chinese economy grew at 7 per cent, its slowest rate of growth in six years. Here in Canada, the TSX Venture Exchange climbed 9.20 points to 705.25 and the TSX Gold Index added 3.29 points to 167.39.

Canada's larger gold miners ended the day higher. Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) gained 66 cents to $37.35, Goldcorp Inc. (G) gained 55 cents to $24.54, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) rose 17 cents to $15.79 and Iamgold Corp. (IMG) added seven cents to $2.67.

Kevin McArthur's Tahoe Resources Inc. (THO) dropped 17 cents to $14.30 on 3.07 million shares. A company employee has been jailed in Guatemala, pending an investigation into whether the company might have contaminated a local creek in 2012 while building its Escobal silver mine. Tahoe says no contamination took place. The news gave MiningWatch Canada something new to report. The anti-development group, which complains about any mine it can, has been trying to stop Tahoe from mining at Escobal since April, 2013, when the company received its final permit. Until then, Tahoe thought it had a good relationship with the Escobal locals. After receiving its final permit, however, protestors showed up by the hundreds. MiningWatch Canada was busing them in, four busloads at a time. At one point the company's security guards were forced to ward off the machete-wielding protesters with rubber bullets. MiningWatch is now helping some injured protestors sue Tahoe in Canada. To appease Guatemalans and stop the protests, the company placed $12-million into a community trust. It also granted the locals a 5-per-cent royalty on production, which amounted to $10-million last year. Early this year, Mr. McArthur decided it was time to diversify, acquiring Alex Black's Peruvian gold miner, Rio Alto Mining Ltd., for $1-billion. This acquisition should provide the company with 220,000 ounces of gold production this year; it could also give MiningWatch Canada another mine to complain about.

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