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by Stockwatch Business Reporter
New York spot gold closed up $1.10 to $1,327.20 Wednesday, rising with the U.S. dollar which climbed after ADP, a payrolls processor, said private employers added 281,000 jobs last month. ADP had been targeting a 200,000-job increase. The U.S. Labor Department will release both public and private jobs numbers tomorrow. The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 7.66 points to 1,036.07 and the TSX Gold Index rose a fraction to 196.93.
Gold miners in Canada ended the day some up, some down. Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) gained 52 cents to $41.38, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) added three cents to $19.57, Iamgold Corp. (IMG) slipped seven cents $4.32 and Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD) slipped three cents to $8.13.
Andrew Russell's St. Augustine Gold and Copper Ltd. (SAU) edged up one-half cent to 14 cents on 1,000 shares. The company has arranged a $14.5-million financing from director Manual Villar's Queensberry Mining and Development Corp. of the Philippines. Queensberry will buy 145 million St. Augustine shares at 10 U.S. cents, becoming St. Augustine's largest shareholder with 247 million shares or 39 per cent of the company. Chief executive officer Andrew Russell, who owns 144 million shares, will remain a director, but he has handed his CEO duties over to director Villar, who is the son of Manny Villar, a Filipino senator and businessman. Mr. Russell is undoubtedly hoping that Mr. Villar Sr., who bills himself as the richest senator in the Philippines, can use his connections to help St. Augustine speed up development of its King-king gold project in that country. The Villars have two other companies, Vista Land and Lifescapes, which build condominiums in Manila, and Starmalls Inc., which operates 11 shopping malls across the country. Like most Filipino senators, Mr. Villar Sr. has had his fair share of fraud allegations. Among other things, his opponents claimed that during a campaign he falsely portrayed himself as growing up in poverty when his family appeared to be wealthy enough to afford a private hospital. (Mr. Villar Sr. denied the allegations.) He also tried running for president in 2010. Meanwhile St. Augustine is working on a $30-million feasibility study for King-king, after which it will have earned a 45-per-cent interest. Queensberry's parent company, Nadecor, is optioning the interest to St. Augustine; it has been trying to bring the project to production since 1981.
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