Big new mines position these two for gains

Article Excerpt

NORTHGATE MINERALS CORP. $3.13 (Toronto symbol NGX; SI Rating: Speculative) (604-681-4004; www.northgateminerals.ca; Shares outstanding: 290.9 million; Market cap: $910.5 million; No dividends paid) is focused on building a mine at its Young-Davidson gold property in northern Ontario. The $339-million mine, which would produce 180,000 ounces of gold per year, is scheduled to start up in 2012. After two years, its production would rise to 190,000 ounces. Northgate also owns the Kemess South open-pit gold/copper mine in north-central B.C. However, it expects to exhaust this mine’s reserves by late 2010. To replace Kemess South, Northgate paid $257 million U.S. for Australian gold miner Perseverance Corp. in 2008. Perseverance produces roughly 225,000 ounces of gold a year from two mines, both of which are in Australia. Northgate aims to keep raising this total, while cutting costs at Perseverance’s mines. In the three months ended March 31, 2010, Northgate’s revenue rose 1.2%, to $125.3 million from $123.8 million (all figures except share price and market cap in…