da silver lining...

Small gold, big declines
DAVID BERMAN
RTGAM






A number of the small Canadian gold-producers were getting crushed in trading on Monday morning, illustrating that these stocks can be highly sensitive to moves in the price of gold - on the downside as well as the upside.

Here's an example of some of the carnage in late morning trading: China Gold International Resources Corp. fell about 12 per cent, Alacer Gold Corp. ASR-T fell 7.8 per cent, and Detour Gold Corp. and European Goldfields Ltd. fell about 5 per cent each. Meanwhile, gold was down a relatively tame $6.50 (U.S.) an ounce, trading in New York at $1,525.

The smaller producers have been struggling throughout the year, with the average loss for the four stocks quote above coming it at around 11 per cent.

The big producers held up far better on Monday, with Goldcorp Inc. down just 1.1 per cent on Monday and Barrick Gold Corp. up 0.3 per cent. For the year, though, they too are struggling. Goldcorp is flat and Barrick has fallen 19.5 per cent - even though the price of gold has risen 7.4 per cent.