Gold May Have The Attention Of More Investors Than Any Previous Time in History

Financialnewsmedia.com News Commentary

PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Gold.org, Gold mining is a global business with operations on every continent, except Antarctica, and gold is extracted from mines of widely varying types and scale. Mines and gold mining operations have become increasingly geographically diverse, far removed from the concentrated supply of four decades or so ago when the vast majority of the world's gold came from South Africa. The report said: "China was the largest gold producer in the world in 2016, accounting for around 14% of total annual production. But no one region dominates. Asia as a whole produces 23% of all newly-mined gold. Central and South America produce around 17% of the total, with North America supplying around 16%. Around 19% of production comes from Africa and 14% from the CIS region. Overall levels of mine production have grown significantly over the last decade, although substantial new discoveries are increasingly rare and production levels are increasingly constrained."     Active mining stocks mentioned in today's commentary include:  Ridgestone Mining Inc. (TSX-V: RMI) (OTCQB: RIGMF), Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE: VGZ) (TSX: VGZ), B2Gold Corp. (NYSE: BTG) (TSX: BTO), Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE: SAND) (TSX: SSL), Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) (TSX:YRI).

The Gold.org article continued: "Gold mining and mine production does not respond quickly to prices. The project development timeline and mine lifecycle is a very long one – it often takes decades to move from discovery to production. The best estimates currently available suggest that around 197,576 tonnes of gold has been mined throughout history, of which around two-thirds has been mined since 1950. And since gold is virtually indestructible, this means that almost all of this metal is still around in one form or another. If every single ounce of this gold were placed next to each other, the resulting cube of pure gold would only measure around 21 metres on each side.  Each year, global gold mining adds approximately 2,500-3,000 tonnes to the overall above-ground stock of gold. While gold production has shown an upward trend in recent years, this is likely to level off in coming years."

Ridgestone Mining Inc. (TSX-V: RMI) (OTCQB: RIGMF) (FSE: 4U5) BREAKING NEWS - Ridgestone Makes Strategic Appointment of Dr. Andrew J. Ramcharan to its Advisory Board  - Ridgestone Mining ("Ridgestone") is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Andrew Ramcharan to its Advisory Board.

Dr. Ramcharan has an extensive background in exploration, project evaluation, investment banking and corporate development spanning over twenty years. Dr. Ramcharan is currently Executive Vice President, Corporate Development for Roscan Gold (TSXV:ROS) where he has been instrumental in raising over $18 million and a five-fold increase in market valuation of over $100 million in the last six months.

In a similar role with IAMGOLD Corp (TSX:IMG) as Manager of Corporate Development, Dr. Ramcharan was involved with raising over $600 million in equity and over $800 million in project acquisitions. Dr. Ramcharan has also held senior investment banking roles, including Sprott Resource and Resource Capital Funds, where he performed over 300 project evaluations and numerous debt and equity financings valued over $1 billion.

Dr. Ramcharan holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Mining Engineering and Mineral Economics, and attended the Colorado School of Mines, University of Leoben, and Harvard Busines School Continuing Education Program. Dr. Ramcharan is a P.Eng in Ontario, a Registered Member of The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) in USA, a Fellow of both The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM).

Mr. Jonathan George, CEO, commented "We are very excited to have someone of Andrew's caliber join the team to add value to all stake holders. His extensive background and experience in both technical and capital markets will aid us as we advance our Rebeico project and evaluate prospective opportunities in Mexico."

"Ridgestone Mining's future is compelling and exciting", said Dr. Andrew Ramcharan. "The Company's exploration program is off to a great start and has a great team to take the Company to a new level in a short time. With positive drill results and news flow, this promises to be a very exciting year for all shareholders."  Read this full release more news for Ridgestone Mining by visiting:  https://www.ridgestonemining.com/news-releases/2020/       

In other mining news of note:

Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE: VGZ) (TSX: VGZ) recently announced receipt of the final $1.5 million payment ("Purchase Price Payment") from Prime Mining Corp. ("Prime Mining") and through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Minera Gold Stake, S.A. de C.V. ("MGS"), has executed a transfer agreement that assigns MGS's legal title to the claims covering the Guadalupe de los Reyes gold / silver project to a subsidiary of Prime Mining.

As previously announced on June 15, 2020 (see news release), Prime Mining is required to pay Vista an additional $2.1 million in lieu of being granted certain royalties and back-in rights:

-  $1,100,000 no later than six months from receipt of the Purchase Price Payment; and
-  $1,000,000 no later than twelve months from receipt of the Purchase Price Payment.
-  If Prime Mining fails to make the two payments, Vista will have the right to reinstate its royalties and back-in rights.

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE: SAND) (TSX: SSL) recently released its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 (all figures in U.S. dollars).  SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS:

-  Attributable gold equivalent ounces sold¹ of 10,920 ounces (Q2 2019 — 16,356 ounces); Revenue of $18.7 million (Q2 2019 — $21.5 million);
-  Cash flows from operating activities, excluding changes in non-cash working capital¹ of $13.4 million (Q2 2019 — $14.5 million);
-  Average cash cost per attributable gold equivalent ounce¹ of $257 resulting in cash operating margins¹ of $1,458 per ounce (Q2 2019 — $301 per ounce and $1,013 per ounce respectively);
-  Net income of $7.1 million (Q2 2019 — net income of $2.4 million);
-  Capital: As at June 30, 2020, Sandstorm has a strong balance sheet with over $40 million in cash, over $70 million in equity and debt investments, strong operating cash flows, and an undrawn revolving credit facility of $225 million. 

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE BTG) (TSX: BTO) recently announced the launch of its Namibian Rhino Gold Bar campaign in North America to help support the conservation and protection of the critically endangered black rhinos, and the community-based rhino rangers and trackers who protect the rhinos, in Namibia, Southern Africa. This announcement coincides with the International Ranger Federation's ("IRF") World Ranger Day, which takes place annually on July 31.

World Ranger Day was established on the 15^th anniversary of the founding of the IRF and has been observed globally since 2007. The day, which is promoted through the IRF's Thin Green Line Foundation and sanctioned and supported by global members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, recognizes and celebrates rangers who are at the forefront of conservation efforts around the world by protecting natural and cultural resources. It also commemorates rangers that are injured or killed in the line of duty.

Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) (TSX: YRI) recently reported its financial and operational results for the second quarter of 2020. The Company posted strong quarterly production and free cash flow while further reducing net debt.   SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS:

-  Strong Adjusted Net Earnings and Cash Flows, Further Reduction in Net Debt 
-  Adjusted net earnings⁽¹⁾ of $63.3 million or $0.07 per share basic and diluted compared to adjusted net earnings of $19.8 million or $0.02 per share basic and diluted a year earlier.
-  Net earnings were nil or nil per share basic and diluted compared to net earnings of $14.1 million or $0.01 per share basic and diluted a year earlier.
-  Strong quarterly cash flows from operating activities of $92.2 million and cash flow from operating activities before net change in working capital of $118.1 million, reflecting the impact of strong production, strong precious metal prices, and the positive impact of foreign exchange movements on costs.

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