Gold producing company Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM) recorded a net income of 79 cents per share in the third quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents. Year on year, earnings grew by a robust 88% on strong gold and copper prices as well as lower costs. Revenues for the quarter climbed 50% to over $2 billion, driven by a 29% rise in gold sales to $1.6 billion and about a fivefold increase in copper revenues to $396 million. Newmont sold 1.7 billion ounces of gold in the quarter, up 15% year over year. The company sold 141 million pound of copper compared with 44 million pound in the same period of the previous year. On a regional basis, gold sales were slightly above expectations as higher-than-expected sales at Yanacocha in Peru, Batu Hijau in Indonesia ...

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU), the world’s third largest gold producer, plans to expand output through exploration. The company aims to produce up to 6 million ounces annually, up from 4.98 million ounces in 2008, largely by improving its mines and expanding through exploration. AngloGold expects the dollar price of gold to rise. The company has forecasted gold prices of $950 to $1,100 per ounce in 2010. It expects gold prices to rise beyond $1,100 if the downtrend in the US economy continues and investment demand for gold increases further. Although electricity costs and new wage settlements have put pressure on the company's bottom line, it has no plans to lay off workers to save costs. AngloGold is also planning to develop its La Colosa project in Colombia. In July this year, AngloGold had teamed up with African miner Randgold Resources to buy Moto Goldmines, which owns ...