UPDATE 1-Polymetal production soars, reiterates forecasts

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MOSCOW, July 19 (Reuters) – Russian precious metals miner Polymetal (PMTL.MM) reiterated its production forecasts for 2010 after seeing gold and silver production rise in the second quarter.

The company said on Monday its gold production rose 61 percent year-on-year during the three months to end June, partly due to new contributions from the Varvarinskoye mine, while silver production rose 13 percent.

“In the second quarter of 2010 we saw sustained and stable production growth across our operations,” Chief Executive Vitaly Nesis said in a statement.

The boost helped the company’s second-quarter revenue soar to $249 million from just $109 million the previous year. The first-half figure rose 93 percent to $424 million.

Polymetal’s production targets for the full year remain for 430 to 450 Koz of gold, 19 to 20 Moz of silver and 4.0 to 5.0 Kt of copper. (Reporting by John Bowker; Editing by David Holmes)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 1-Fresnillo Q2 gold output hits record, FY on track

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) – Mexican precious metals miner Fresnillo (FRES.L) said its gold production rose to a record in the second quarter, when prices for the metal also reached new highs, and that it is on track to meet it 2010 output targets.

Its silver output climbed 0.3 percent to 9.6 million ounces while attributable gold production jumped 34 percent to 91,254 ounces boosted by the start-up of commercial production at Soledad-Dipolos.

The FTSE 100-listed miner, the world’s largest primary silver producer, said it is on track to achieve full year 2010 production targets. It expects to produce about 38 million ounces of silver and approximately 340,000 ounces of gold.

Fresnillo (FRES.L), a unit of Penoles (PENOLES.MX), said on May 28 that it continued to trade well in 2010 thanks to higher gold and silver production and precious metal prices. [ID:nLDE64R094]

Concern over euro zone sovereign debt levels drove spot gold XAU= to a record $1,264.90 an ounce in June and silver XAG= reached its highest price this year in May, although prices for both metals have since receded. [GOL/]

(Reporting by Julie Crust; editing by Mark Potter)

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Lappland Goldminers AB: Lappland Goldminers AB – Strategic update and first report from the Fäboliden feasibility work.

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The new mineral resource estimate for Fäboliden forms the basis of open pit optimisation
and studies into options for underground mining. The ongoing feasibility studies will
seek to establish the optimum mining rate and extraction of payable ore.

The Fäboliden gold mineralisation is a central part in the strategy for Lappland
Goldminers to develop as a major gold producing mining company in Europe. Golder
Associates, a renowned international consulting company, has finalised their review of
the mineral resource estimate which will, together with capital investment and operating
costs, form the basis of a new ore reserve calculation which will be reported on in the
feasibility study.

The updated resource estimate shows that the measured and indicated mineral resource at
a cut-off grade of 0.4 grams of gold per tonne amounts to 57.8 million tonnes with 1.05
grams of gold per tonne and 2.81 grams of silver per tonne. In addition there is an
inferred mineral resource of 32.4 million tonnes with 1.04 grams of gold per tonne and
with 3.37 grams of silver per tonne. As shown in Table 1, both tonnage and gold grades
in the measured and indicated mineral resource are lower than previously reported
estimates.

Golder Associates has also estimated the measured and indicated mineral resources at
different cut-off grades as shown in Table 2. This shows the variations of gold and
silver grades and tonnages with varying cut-off grades.

The lower gold grade in the measured and indicated category at a cut-off of 0.4 grams of
gold per tonne impacts the future circumstances for profitable mining and will be
dependent the future level of the gold price expressed in SEK. The feasibility study
will therefore need to consider cut-off grades appropriate to the mining methods now
under consideration. This means selective mining of higher grade portions of the
mineralisation will be investigated that may result in lower production rates and plant
throughputs and a shorter mine life.

If the current high gold price (about 300 SEK per gram) persists, it will have a
positive impact on the study.

The updated mineral resource estimate has led to a need to consider alternative
selective underground mining methods and the need to define a new production optimum. As
a result of these additional studies, the feasibility study is now due to be completed
in the second quarter of 2011.

Fäboliden Mineral Resource Estimate June 2010.pdf

https://hugin.info/134992/R/1429489/376536.pdf

The efforts to increase the ore reserves continues in Pahtavaara.

Pahtavaara mine, where Lappland Goldminers has ongoing gold production, is located in
the municipality of Sodankylä in Finland. The area is considered to have great potential
to host additional gold mineralisation’s that could be mined and sent to the company´s
concentrator. The shallow parts of the Länsi mineralisation, located immediately
adjacent to the existing mine, has been drilled and investigated with 31 core drill
holes and 13 reverse circulation holes (totally 4 700 meter). Measured and indicated
mineral resources are estimated to 60.0 thousand tonnes with 2.97 grams of gold per
tonne (Table 3). The estimate is carried out by T. Lindholm (GeoVista AB) that is an
independent consultant and qualified person (QP), according to the Svemin, the FinnMin
and the JORC codes for reporting.

Estimate of Länsi mineral resource June 2010.pdf

https://hugin.info/134992/R/1429501/376558.pdf

The Länsi mineralisation is still open towards northwest and towards depth. A drilling
program comprising 6000 meter, where the majority is drilled in the Länsi area, has
started in June to investigate the mineralisation further.

Continued core drilling at Ersmarksberget

During the fourth quarter of 2009, a drilling program was resumed to investigate the
previously identified Central and South One gold mineralisation´s at depth. Within the
current mining concession, fourteen core drill holes were drilled (3 400 meter). The
analyses from eight holes aimed at Central and from two aimed at South One, are
available for disclosure (Table 4). The results so far indicate that further drilling is
required towards depth in Central mineralisation. South One mineralisation has been
extended and is still open to the south. An additional drill program comprising of 3 000
meter core drilling has been started during May 2010.

Ersmarksberget Core Drilling Phase I.pdf https://hugin.info/134992/R/1429489/376538.pdf

The goal for the ongoing investigation at Ersmarksberget is to define enough mineral
reserves to allow for profitable mining. If the outcome of the investigation is positive
a mineral resource estimate will be finalised. After metallurgical tests and estimates
of operating costs and a subsequent calculations of ore reserves it should possible to
make a decision in quarter three 2010 about the potential future start up of production.

For further information:

Kjell Larsson, CEO
Tel 0950-27506 eller 070-385 03 57
E-mail: kjell.larsson@lgold.se mailto:kjell.larsson@lgold.se

Also visit:

www.lapplandgoldminers.com

About Mangold Fondkommission: www.mangold.se http://www.mangold.se/

The technical part of this press release has been approved by Risto Virkkunen, the
company´s and by SveMin and FinnMin registered qualified person (QP).

Lappland Goldminers AB is a producing mining company with significant exploration
activities. The Company is listed on the market place First North Premier under the name
GOLD, with Mangold Fondkommission AB as Certified Adviser, as well as on the Norwegian
OTC list. Lappland Goldminers’ strategy is to develop mineral deposits into profitable
producing mines. The Company is strategically positioned with the the fully permitted
Fäboliden gold project and the Ersmarksberget deposit and processing plant in northern
Sweden. The Pahtavaara gold operation is located in the north of Finland and the Haveri
gold deposit in the south of Finland. Lappland Goldminers is a member of SveMin, the
Swedish association for mines, minerals and metal producers, and follows SveMin’s
reporting rules for public mining and exploration companies.

HUG#1429501

Fäboliden Mineral Resource Estimate June 2010

http://hugin.info/134992/R/1429501/376557.pdf

Estimate of Länsi mineral resource June 2010

http://hugin.info/134992/R/1429501/376558.pdf

Ersmarksberget Core Drilling Phase I.pdf http://hugin.info/134992/R/1429501/376559.pdf

Press release (PDF) http://hugin.info/134992/R/1429501/376556.pdf

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Factbox: Congress late-night decisions on swaps reforms

June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Here are some of the key agreements for swaps rules agreed to by a conference panel of Senate and House of Representatives members:

* Banks can trade foreign exchange and interest rate swaps in house, as well as gold and silver swaps, and derivatives deigned to hedge their own risk.

* Banks need to spin off desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps.

* Non-financial companies “using swaps to hedge or mitigate commercial risk” are exempt from clearing the trades, as long as they explain to regulators how they are meeting financial obligations.

* The financing arms of manufacturers like Ford Motor Co, Deere & Co, Caterpillar Inc and Boeing and other “end users” do not have to clear swaps when they assist in selling the parent company’s products.

* Clearinghouses will not be forced to accept credit risk from other clearinghouses — interpreted as a win for the CME Group, the world’s biggest operator of futures exchanges.

* Federal Reserve governors and the Treasury secretary would need to agree before a clearinghouse could access the Fed’s emergency funds.

* Firms engaged in a “de minimis” amount of swap dealing with or on behalf of customers will be exempt from new rules for swaps dealers.

* Capital and margin requirements for uncleared swaps done by non-bank swap dealers and major players will be set at “appropriate” levels, softening earlier language that said levels would be as strict or stricter than those set for banks.

* Traders can use non-cash collateral to meet margin requirements.

* Regulators “shall” set limits on speculative positions “as appropriate” but have authority to exempt traders or types of swaps from the limits.

* Movie futures will be banned.

* There will be no ownership restrictions set for major swaps players, banks and financial companies involved in clearinghouses, exchanges, or swap execution facilities.

* Regulators will have at least a year after the time of passage to implement the legislation.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Charles Abbott, editing by Jackie Frank)

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US lawmakers agree to let banks trade most swaps

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 25 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers finalizing sweeping financial reforms agreed on Friday to allow banks to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives, watering down a controversial plan that would have required banks to spin off much of their lucrative swaps dealing desks.

Bonds | Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News

Under the deal, banks can trade in-house foreign exchange and interest rate swaps, gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk.

But banks will need to spin off dealing desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps. (Reporting by Charles Abbott, Rachelle Younglai, Roberta Rampton, editing by Jackie Frank)

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Banks could trade many swaps under new compromise

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Banks would be allowed to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives under a new proposal designed to break an impasse in the U.S. Congress over financial regulation reform, Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson said on Friday.

Politics

Banks could trade foreign exchange and interest rate swaps in house, as well as gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk, said Peterson, citing a compromise worked on by members of a House and Senate financial reform panel as well as Obama administration officials.

But banks would need to spin-off desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps, Peterson said.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott and Roberta Rampton)

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Banks could trade many swaps under new compromise

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 25 (Reuters) – Banks would be allowed to trade in-house many types of over-the-counter derivatives under a new proposal designed to break an impasse in the U.S. Congress over financial regulation reform, Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson said on Friday.

Stocks | Bonds | Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News

Banks could trade foreign exchange and interest rate swaps in house, as well as gold and silver swaps, and derivatives designed to hedge their own risk, said Peterson, citing a compromise worked on by members of a House and Senate financial reform panel as well as Obama administration officials.

But banks would need to spin-off desks to affiliates to handle agricultural, energy and metals swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps, Peterson said. (Reporting by Charles Abbott and Roberta Rampton)

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Bullion Monarch Mining Completes Plan to Protect Shareholder Rights

June 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ST. GEORGE, UT, Jun 11 (MARKET WIRE) —
Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. (OTCBB: BULM) www.bullionmm.com, a gold and
silver exploration and royalty company, is excited to announce that it
has reached a plan of action to complete the reorganization of the
company utilizing the quasi-reorganization method. Bullion Monarch Mining
can now move forward with their strategy to grow the company and graduate
to a more prominent and well regarded exchange. This plan of action has
been filed recently in an 8k form with the SEC. The net effect of
applying quasi-reorganization accounting is explained in detail in our
recently filed 8K. We urge investors who are interested in the technical
details of this accounting change to closely examine the language and
tables included in the 8K.

When Bullion Monarch Company (referred to as Old Bullion) was
involuntarily dissolved, management formed Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc.
which was subject to a fairness hearing held on September 27, 2006 (New
Bullion) to carry on the business of “Old Bullion.” The necessity for the
quasi-reorganization method of accounting was based in management’s
insistence that all shareholders of “Old Bullion” maintained their rights
of ownership. When “Old Bullion” was dissolved, its shares ceased to
exist. Therefore, the only means of protecting the “Old Bullion”
shareholders was by creating “rights” directly tied to the “Old Bullion”
shares. “Rights” in “Old Bullion” are exchanged for shares in the
reorganized “New Bullion” on a one-to-one basis.

All shares issued by “Old Bullion” and “New Bullion” will continue to be
“New Bullion” shareholders. Bullion Monarch Company rights holders who
have not exchanged their rights for Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. shares
will continue to have the same rights of exchange each had under the
reorganization. These rights are subject to a five year exchange
limitation established by the fairness hearing and court proceedings in
the State of Utah and will expire at the close of business on September
26, 2011.

Bullion’s President Don Morris stated: “While some companies may have
taken advantage of an involuntary dissolution as an opportunity to
disenfranchise shareholders, our management team would not allow this to
happen. Many of our shareholders have been with us for years, since my
father ran the company. We insisted on protecting Old Bullion
shareholders by creating shareholder rights. Management then had to
furnish an acceptable means of accounting for those shareholder rights.
Valuable time and resources have been consumed completing this process
and filing this plan is a big step forward in Bullion Monarch’s pursuit
of growth and greater profitability.”

Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. (www.bullionmm.com) is a publicly traded
(OTCBB: BULM) gold and silver exploration and royalty company.

“Safe Harbor” Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.
Certain statements contained in this report constitute
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Information contained in this report
contains “forward-looking statements’ which can be identified by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,”
“should,” “plan,” “approximately,” “likely,” or “anticipates” or the
negative thereof or given that the future results covered by such
forward-looking statements will be achieved. Such forward-looking
statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future
results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only for the
date the statements was made. Investors should carefully consider the
preceding information as well as information contained in the report
before making any investment in the shares of the company. Bullion
Monarch Mining, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this report. This press release
is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an
offer to solicit, buy or sell any security.

Investor Contact Information
Rob Morris
robmorris@bullionmm.com
(801) 426-8111

Media Contact Information
AJ Sterling Consulting
info@bullionmm.com
(435) 669-3855

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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Skyline Gold Initiates 2010 Exploration at Snip-1 High-Grade Gold and Silver Discovery Zone Adjacent Bronson Slope

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA, May 31 (MARKET WIRE) —
Skyline Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE: SK) (“the Company”), a
company engaged in the exploration and development of its Bronson Slope
project in north western British Columbia’s ‘Golden Triangle’, is pleased
to announce that it is initiating its 2010 exploration program to further
explore the high grade gold and silver zone discovered in October 2009 on
the Snip-1 tenure (# 523348). This high grade discovery zone on Snip-1
includes an interval with a composite grade of 4.70 grams/tonne (g/t)
gold and 75.9 (g/t) silver over a 27.0 meter (m) interval, from 48 (m) to
75 (m) down-hole depth, as disclosed in the Company’s news release of
December 9, 2009. This drill core interval extends from approximately 24
(m) to 37 (m) vertical depth, respectively, below surface.

The first phase of the 2010 exploration program consists of approximately
2,000 (m) of diamond drilling to identify the extension and structure of
the high-grade discovery zone that is located adjacent to the Bronson
Slope gold/copper/magnetite/silver deposit and an induced-polarization
(I.P.) geophysical survey. The I.P. survey will be conducted in and
around the high-grade area of the Snip-1 discovery zone as well as on the
adjacent Chopin I (# 222135) and Chopin II (# 222136) tenures that were
acquired by the Company in November 2009.

Drilling has commenced and line-cutting has also begun in preparation for
initiation of the geophysical survey this week. Assay results will be
released to market as they are received from the assaying lab. This
exploration field activity is expected to be completed by the end of June.

Drilling services are provided by Driftwood Diamond Drilling Ltd. of
Smithers B.C., geophysical survey services are provided by Walcott
Geoscience Inc. of Vancouver, line cutting services are provided by
Tahltan Northern Exploration Services Ltd. (TNES) of Smithers B.C.,
helicopter transportation is provided by Vancouver Island Helicopters
(VIH) Ltd. / Bear Dog Aviation Ltd. of Saanich B.C., fixed wing services
are provided by Sustut Air Inc., and camp services are provided by Rugged
Edge Holdings Ltd., both of Smithers, B.C. The exploration program is
managed by Arnd Burgert, P.Geo. and geological consultation services are
provided to Skyline Gold by David Yeager, P.Geo.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SKYLINE GOLD CORPORATION

David Jensen, P.Eng., President

Cautionary Statement

Statements in this release may be viewed as forward-looking statements.
Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. There are no
assurances the Company can fulfill such forward-statements and the
Company undertakes no obligation to update statements. Such forward
looking statements are only predictions; actual events or results may
differ materially as a result of risks facing the Company, some of which
are beyond the Company’s control.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:
Skyline Gold Corporation
David Jensen, P.Eng.
President
604.270.3878
604.270.3858 (FAX)
www.skylinegold.com

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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Nittetsu Mining: H1 copper output up 7.3 pct yr/yr

April 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

TOKYO, April 9 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nittetsu Mining Co Ltd
(1515.T) plans to produce 21,127 tonnes of copper in the
April-September first half, up 7.3 percent from the same period
last year.

This follows similar announcements of output plans by other
Japanese smelters this month as they remain cautious about the
demand outlook.

For details of Japanese smelters plans click: [ID:nTOE63504T]

Following are details of Nittetsu’s latest output plan, with
comparisons against actual production in the first half and for
the second half of 2009/10, which ended on March 31:

(copper in tonnes, gold and silver in kg):

H1 10/11 H1 09/10 H2 09/10

Copper 21,127 19,686 21,271

Gold 1,285 290 1,352

Silver 6,270 3,451 5,921
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ICC unveils Champions Trophy 2009

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 17 (ANI): Trophy of the Champions Trophy 2009 that kick starts on September 22 in South Africa was unveiled in national capital New Delhi on Thursday.

Veteran cricketers Wasim Akram and Sanjay Manjrekar along with ace commentator Harsha Bhogle unveiled the official gold and silver trophy.

Harsha spoke about how Twenty20 cricket could never match the drama and thrills that the 50 over format has to offer.

ICC General Manager Campbell Jamieson, representing the sports’ governing body, cleared the doubts over the survival of the 50 over format.

“We are certainly making all efforts to make this event very successful obviously eight teams are the best in the world. The facilities are certainly world class in Wanderers and Centurion,” said Campbell Jamieson.

“The world class venues we are certainly trying to look after the players, the officials and make the broadcast to the people through the world to enjoy the greatest cricket,” said Campbell Jamieson.

Meanwhile, Akram said that the one-day tracks would be good for the batsmen from our part of the world that is from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“Early season, new wicket and Campbell just told me that it hasn’t rained in South Africa form last 2-3 months so outfield will be lightening fast for sure and Wanderers as we all know the wicket flies a bit so I thought it will be good test for batsmen from out part of the world to do well. Pretoria is mostly flat track so in general I think they are good one-day tracks,” said Akram.

The International Cricket Council Champions Trophy 2009 concludes on October 5. ICC Knockout tournament began in 1988 and South Africa won the trophy in the inaugural year. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Soaring gold prices worry Kerala jewelers, customers

September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Kochi, Sep 10(ANI): With gold prices soaring across the country, bullion merchants, jewellers and even customers are a worried lot in Kerala.

The disappointment looms large particularly in the context of the ensuing festival season. In the past, people used to buy gold well before the festivities, but, with gold now priced at Rs16,000 per 10 grams, buying it was becoming difficult.

Normally, the demand for gold rises between August and October in anticipation of the festivals of Dussera, Deepavali and Dhanteras, followed by the Christmas and New Year.

Kerala has one of the highest consumptions of gold and silver ornaments in the country, but the global upsurge in the gold prices has adversely affected the business.

“Traditionally, gold had been the most ideal mode of investment among the people of Kerala and also as jewellery. However, of late, particularly in the context of global trends of rising prices, to a great extent, our business has been severely hit since the purchasing power of the public has slid down and we are the worst sufferers,” said N P Tony, the manager of a jewellery showroom. (ANI)

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Good response to auction of ornaments offered at Ganesha Puja

September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Sep 9 (ANI): The organising committee of the famed ‘Lalbag ka Raja’ community Ganesha Puja pandal commenced the auctioning of various ornaments which were offered by devotees during the ten-day festival of Ganesha Chaturthi.

Ornaments worth rupees 26,94,155 lakh were bought by the bidding buyers.

Devotees from across the country had offered precious stones, gold and silver jewelleries.he Treasurer of the organising committee said that the response from the buyers who happen to be ardent devotees was overwhelming.

“We received a very good response. We sold 78 different ornaments worth rupees 26,94,155 lakh in the auction,” said Sanjay Vijay Ghadekar, Treasurer, ‘Lalbag Ka Raja’ Puja Committee.

Buyers considered themselves fortunate enough to own the auspicious ornaments.

“I bought this necklace for rupees 1,72,000. My belief is that if we buy gold from here then the rest of year goes well and brings blessings to our family,” said Dilip Sardesai, a buyer.

At the end of the 10-day long festival, the idols of Lord Ganesha were taken in grand processions and immersed in water bodies such as wells, ponds, rivers and the sea. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mela Patt fair celebrated in Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmir

August 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Bhaderwah (Jammu and Kashmir), Aug 28(ANI): Colourful folk dances marked the annual three-day fair ‘Mela Patt’ celebrations in Bhaderwah sub-division of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.

The festival, which concluded on Thursday, is celebrated every year after it was started by Raja Nagpal, the 16th century ruler of the then small principality of Bhaderkashi, now known as Bhaderwah.

The festival begins on Naag Panchami, festival dedicated to honour the snake God.

According to folklore, Mughal emperor Akbar wanted to make Raja Nagpal bow to him, but Nagpal would not bow before anyone except his Lord Vasuki Naag. The emperor summoned Nagpal and ordered to sever his head. But, when king’s men tried to cut his head a serpent came out from his turban.

Impressed by Nagpal’s spiritual powers, Akbar awarded him with a golden pot with precious stones and costly velvet robes embroidered with gold and silver as a token of his devotion to Vasuki Naag.

Every year during the festival the devotees take out a procession of the gifts presented to Nagpal.

“The pot you see was gifted by emperor Akbar to Raja Nagpal and every year it is taken out for display to the locals,” said Hari Krishan, a local.

The festival sees enthusiasts from across north-India, as they believe that their wishes will come true if they pray earnestly.

“Not only people from Jammu and Kashmir, but from people across north India come to see the festival. There is a saying that if someone asks for a wish it comes true,” said Naresh Gupta, another local.

People danced to the sweet and melodious tunes of the traditional ‘Dhaku’ dance, a unique folk dance of the area, a regular feature during the Mela. By Tahir Nadeem Khan (ANI)

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Brit housewife discovers #250k treasure with metal detector!

June 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, June 26 (ANI): A housewife in Britain discovered a 15th-century gold treasure depicting the Holy Trinity worth 250,000 pounds – using a metal detector.

Mary Hannaby, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, found the relic while on a regular six-hour Sunday detecting walks carrying the instrument with her son Michael, a 33 year-old wood carver.

The treasure had been buried four inches below the ground for around 500 years – between Ashridge and Great Gaddesden.

“You get a buzz every time you get a signal, but chances are it won’t be anything,” The Telegraph quoted her as saying.

Her son added: “This time, it popped up all of a sudden,You can literally miss things by inches. We couldn’t believe it. We always dreamed of finding treasure.”

Under the Treasure Act of 1996, finders must report potential treasure such as gold and silver objects more than 300 years old.

Finders are offered the market value for their discoveries which museums have first option to buy.

Roger Bland, head of treasure at the British Museum who thinks that the object, which at 2.8cm by 2.3cm is barely larger than a postage stamp, is an “important find” regrets the museum is short of funds to buy it.

Apparently, it is one of only three of its kind to have survived, and could be worth even more than 250,000 pounds. (ANI)

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Gold and silver coins looted from Mumbai airport

May 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, 25 May (ANI): Four armed men looted packets containing 100 kg of gold and silver coins from Air India cargo terminal at Mumbai airport on Monday.

A security guard was injured during the incident and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

“It was a case of robbery. This is not related to terrorism,” said Rakesh Maria, Mumbai police official.

Security in and around the airport has been tightened after the firing and search is being carried out to nab the robbers. (ANI)

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Ancient civilization site found in Chhattisgarh

May 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sirpur (Chhattisgarh), May 7 (ANI): Site of an ancient civilization has been excavated in Sirpur in Chhattisgarh.

Six well constructed granaries and various stone and bronze statues, bangles, casts used for making gold and silver jewellery have been excavated.

“It was only recognised as the capital of Koshal. But after the excavations, we found ancient factories for making bangles, ayurvedic medicines, gold and silver jewellery and bronze statues. We have also found casts for making these things. It was a famous trade site,” said Arun Kumar Sharma, an archaeologist.

Six granaries have been excavated from the site. These are well-constructed underground granary with the capacity of storing 34 quintals of rice each.

The granaries are built in such a way that insects and rodents cannot enter. The granaries are also built underground to keep them cool.

“It is a public place because a lot of things belonging to public have been found. The granary is from the Satvahana age, two centuries before Christ and 200 years after Christ. It was the Satvahana age. We have found six granaries.

They were made from square pieces of white limestone. The base of the granary is 25 layers below the cover of the granary,” said Sharma.

The archaeologists though hope to find more granaries as only one fourth of the site has been excavated yet.

Being in the centre of India, Sirpur is said to have been an important trade centre. Various goods were sent to parts of India and Arab countries from here.

It was also known for iron statues, as there are iron reserves around the place. The goods from here were sent to Karnataka, Gujarat, Cuttack and so on.

Sirpur, the ancient Sirpura was an important religious and trade site in ancient India, situated on the bank of the Mahanadi River in present Chhattisgarh.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has conducted excavations in the area.

Buddhist monasteries and an ancient temple have been amongst the main excavations. By Shiv Shankar Sarthi(ANI)

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Mexico workers end strike at Penoles metals refinery

April 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

MEXICO CITY, April 14 (Reuters) – Workers have ended a strike at the massive Met Mex gold and silver refining plant owned by Mexican miner Penoles, Mexico’s labor ministry said on Tuesday.

Workers had been on strike since February, forcing Penoles (PENOLES.MX) to declare force majeure on some shipments from the plant. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Michael Urquhart)

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UPDATE 1-Mexico workers end strike at Penoles metals refinery

April 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

(Adds details on agreement, background)

MEXICO CITY, April 14 (Reuters) – Mexican workers have ended a strike at the massive MetMex gold and silver refining plant owned by miner Penoles, Mexico’s labor ministry said on Tuesday.

Some 300 striking workers in the precious metals refinery section of the sprawling MetMex metals complex in northern Mexico laid down tools on Feb. 8, demanding a salary increase of up to 9 percent.

The strike led Penoles (PENOLES.MX) to declare force majeure in March after the strike paralyzed the plant.

Members of the metal workers’ union accepted a 6 percent increase in wages on Tuesday in order to return to work, the labor ministry said in a statement.

Penoles’ precious metals unit Fresnillo (FRES.L), which operates the world’s largest silver mine, processes all the gold and silver from its mines at the MetMex plant.

MetMex refines more than 90 percent of all the gold and silver mined in Mexico and produced around 580,000 kgs of silver, 54,000 kgs of gold and 460,000 tonnes of zinc in 2007, according to statistics on Penoles’ website. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Ben Tan)

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Henry VIII’s tapestry ‘re-weaved’

April 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr 10 (ANI): A 500-year-old tapestry commissioned by Henry VIII has been returned to its colourful glory, courtesy an exhibition that uses digital technology.

The exhibition, which has opened in London, allows visitors to see the vibrant colours originally woven into the fabrics at the Henry VIII’s Tapestries Revealed exhibition with the help of light beams.

It has taken six years of research to ‘virtually restore’ the faded threads for the Hampton Court Palace show.

The exhibition is part of a range to mark 500 years since the accession of the 16th Century king.

The tapestry is part of the Story of Abraham Series which was woven to celebrate the birth of Henry VIII’s son, reports The BBC.

Researchers from the University of Manchester and Historic Royal Palaces spent years to calculate how much colour had faded from its fibres. The fabric’s delicate nature means the calibrated beams of light can only be used in five short bursts a day.
Kathryn Hallett, from the Historic Royal Palaces, said: “This project, the first ever ‘virtual restoration’ of a tapestry, will show how these magnificent works of art would have dazzled visitors to Henry VIII’s Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace 500 years ago.”

The piece originally cost 2,000 pounds in 1537 and took three years to be completed by master craftsmen who made cloths from wool and silk, interlaced with gold and silver thread. (ANI)

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