Bullion Review

Might the US government default on its new mountain of debt early in 2009…?

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Source:Buckle Up!

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh has a new attraction after the Gold Brothers opened a store on the famous strip.

Royal Mile Jewellery will become the 12th shop opened by Surinder, Galab and Dildar Singh in the city centre and the brothers are transforming the former Crystal Clear store into a glamorous jewellery outlet.

A spokesman for Gold Brothers told the Scotsman: "We’re trying to do something a bit different. We’ve already opened three cashmere shops this year, but this is our first jewellery shop. We’d like to open another one or two."

The focus of the store will be on Scottish fine jewellery designs and a local jeweller will advise the proprietors on fittings and displays, the newspaper reported.

Earlier this month, Michael Laing opened a second Laing’s Boutique in Edinburgh next door to his existing Laing the Jeweller store in Frederick Street.

The new boutique features a quality watch gallery, cappuccino and champagne bars.

Source:New gold jewellery store on Edinburgh's Royal Mile

AuEx Ventures has reported positive drilling results from its Long Canyon gold exploration project in Elko County, Nevada.

Fronteer Development provided AuEx with the figures following an additional 14 holes being drilled since this year’s programme began in May.

One hole returned 9.03 g/t Au over 25.8 metres, which infills oxide gold mineralisation at a shallow depth in the west zone of the project.

Other significant results included 2.64 g/t Au over 3.6 metres, 3.87 g/t Au over 4.6 metres, 4.34 g/t Au over 16.8 metres and 2.75 g/t Au over 6.1 metres.

President and chief executive officer of AuEx Ronald Parratt commented: "These results are the best yet from the west zone at Long Canyon and demonstrate that this zone has significant upside potential."

He went on to say that 2009 promises to be another "exciting" year for the firm.

Meanwhile, gold exploration company Cambrian mining has agreed to a takeover deal offered by Western Canadian Coal.

Source:AuEx reports "best results yet" from Long Canyon

It has become a knee-jerk reaction for investors to look at the Gold Price in terms of the US Dollar alone, and for commentators to only follow its moves in that currency. There is good reason for this, of course, for the US Dollar is the global reserve currency at present even if it is beginning to look of dubious value today.

Why don’t we measure gold in a strong currency such as the Euro?

Source:Look beyond the US Dollar to see what's really happening in the Gold Market

The outlook for silver & gold, as well as mining stocks, as 2009 begins…

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Source:Silver, Gold & the Obama Rally of 2009

Identifying and treating cancerous material could become more "specific and effective" due to advances in nanotechnology, it has been claimed.

An article on the website of SPIE - an international body that works to promote light-based technology - states that the field of nanotechnology could offer benefits to cancer treatment.

It notes that researchers from all over the world are developing applications using nanoparticles made of various materials, including metals such as gold.

The piece highlights the work of teams at the University of Amsterdam and Massachusetts General Hospital, which focuses on creating medical imaging technology using gold nanoparticles.

Researcher Dirk Faber told the site: "The advantages of nanoparticles are that you can bind them to anything you want to and they can be designed to have really good contrast."

In related news, scientists from Sweden’s Lund University have shown how to develop gold nanowires at a single atomic level from gold ’seeds’.

Source:Cancer treatment 'could become more effective' using nanotechnology

A double-banded gold Viking ring has been unearthed by two farmers in a stream in South Lakeland, Cumbria.

Dating back to the tenth or eleventh century, the ring was discovered by two farmers as they dug a drainage channel and has been designated treasure trove, the Westmorland Gazette reported.

Found near a stream in Sedburgh, the gold ring has been assessed by a curator from the prehistoric and European department of the British Museum and is similar to two gold Viking pieces from Saddleworth Moor and Ireland currently in the museum’s collection.

"At first it just looked like a bottle top but when we picked it up it was heavy, with it being gold," one of the farmers told the newspaper. "It’s amazing really. You think, who did it belong to? What were they doing here?"

A gold ring from the Roman era has been discovered in a carved stone sarcophagus by archaeologists in Syria excavating the ancient city of Daraa, according to news agency Sana.

Source:Gold ring discovered in Cumbrian stream

Crew Gold has announced that it has been able to recommence work in Guinea after the new regime that has taken control of the nation allowed mining activities to continue.

At the weekend, the military instructed mine managers to cease operations while the government reviewed concession arrangements for mining firms.

Crew Gold stated that it complied immediately and was advised the work could start up again on December 29th, following the decision that operations could continue as normal while the regime proceeded with its decisions.

Interim chief executive officer Bill LeClair said that the company had always been treated "fairly and with respect" by the leaders of the nation.

"We will continue to operate under the laws of the country and to support our people … we understand that this is a difficult time for the government and will continue to support the government in any way we can," he added.

Meanwhile, the Guinean military rulers have named Kabine Komara as the civilian prime minister.

Source:Operations resume in Guinea

The release of a new 99.9 per cent pure gold Maple Leaf bullion coin has been hailed as one of the greatest achievements of 2008 by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Described as the "sequel to the world’s purest gold bullion coin", the updated version of the piece was designed by mint engraver Jose Osio.

It first appeared in 1979 and has "repeatedly set the standard for purity and quality" in the gold bullion industry, the organisation claimed.

Gold Maple Leaf coins can offer investors an "attractive" method of adding precious metal items to their portfolio, it added.

The Mint also stated that its revamped website was a great achievement for this year, as it offered enthusiasts information on the "wonders" of coin production, mintages, technical specifications and an online catalogue.

Recently, the organisation created four special gold coins designed to commemorate sportsmen from the Montreal Canadiens hockey club.

Source:Gold Maple Leaf coin 'highlight of 2008'

An ancient gold ring dating back to the Roman era has been uncovered by archaeologists in Syria.

Located inside a carved stone sarcophagus, the ring was discovered in the ancient city of Daraa, according to news agency Sana.

The gold ring was found near the head of a skeleton contained within the sarcophagus and is believed to have hung by a chain from an ear.

News of the discovery was announced by Kasem al-Mohammad, a director at the Daraa Archeology Department.

Israeli archaeologists recently revealed that they had found a cache of 264 ancient seventh century gold coins while excavating a car park in Jerusalem National Park.

Unearthed in a niche in a wall in the Giv’ati car park, the Byzantine coins bear the likeness of the emperor Heraclius and the find is the largest hoard of gold coins from the period ever discovered in Jerusalem.

Source:Ancient gold ring found in Syria