kinross made some comments to go along with the quarterly financials today. their gold production is up, and costs are lower because they are bringing lower cost mines on stream (kupol) and have sold higher cost mines (julietta.) they effectively closed out the bema hedges (208,000 oz. gold from kupol.) due to the drbt financing of kupol, they hedges have to stay in place, so kinross bought the same number of gold futures with the same maturities as the hedges. their outlook for the supply side of gold is that companies are re-evaluating or delaying projects, which eventually restrains supply. they also said the volatile markets provide opportunities for well-positioned companies like kinross. i believe that means they think they may be able to steal other assets for next to nothing in an aurelian-style acquistion, but maybe that's just me being cynical.

they said the drilling operations are going well at cerro casale, but there is still no formal joint venture agreement in place with barrick, as they are still in negotiations. the balance sheet is strong with $720 million in cash, and most of their capex is behind them. in ecuador, the mining law is expected to be a priority for the congressillo, and kinross has made its input through the industry group on tax rates and royalties. the timing and content of the new mining law is still subject to debate by the congressillo, but they expect it to be finalized in december or january.

operations in russia are stable, and there is no significant change in the government. they have an excellent relationship with the government, and there are no problems at kupol, but they didn't want to talk about the ore grade. two analysts asked about it, but they were very tight-lipped about answering any questions. all they would say is that they were still working off the stockpile, and the life of mine forecast is 16 grams/ton. when pressed, they said the fourth quarter grade would be the same as the third quarter, and that's all. i find that perplexing, as i would expect them to be high-grading at the start, but they really weren't forthcoming at all.

to sum up, they were one of the few, or maybe the only gold producer to make its estimates this quarter, so by comparison to the industry this was a good quarter for kinross.