Denver Gold Group Conference Posts Record Attendance
September 17th, 2009 - 11:17 am | By GoldAlert
Market Impact

Against the backdrop of a robust gold price, the Denver Gold Group held its annual institutional conference showcasing the market leaders in the gold sector. Eighty-four gold mining companies descended on Denver, representing roughly 98% of the gold market as measured by market capitalization. Fund managers, analysts, and other institutional buyers, all vied for the time of gold company executives, as record attendance figures were posted.

Rumors always swirl at industry conferences, and the big rumor this week was that Yamana Gold (AUY) was up for sale. CEO Peter Marrone is well-known for being active on the deal-making front, and as the company focused on its growth profile during its presentation, speculation swirled about potential buyers. As reported previously by GoldAlert, Newmonts $2 billion bond bond offering further fueled acquisition rumors in recent days. Yamana is seen as a potential Newmont (NEM) target, as are Iamgold (IAG) and Australian-based Lihir Gold (LIHR).

Gold mining CEOs were swamped by institutional investors eager to better understand each companys production production profile, exploration and growth pipeline, and with the renewed surge in the gold price, the leverage leverage they offer to gold. Jaguar Mining (JAG.TSX) garnered interest due to its growing production production profile, and Aura Minerals (ORA.TSX) due to its new production production profile stemming from the acquisition of three mines from Yamana Gold. Other companies with executives in high demand, outside of the traditional stalwarts of the industry Barrick Gold (ABX) and Newmont Mining, included San Gold (SGR.TSXV) due to its spectacularly high-grade new gold discovery, and Golden Star Resources (GSS) due to its improved operational performance and the leverage leverage the company offers to the gold price.