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This may do wonders for inflation and gold in Argentina
Of course, a government that can nullify contracts can expropriate gold, but first the government would have to find it, and it might be a challenge if it was held outside the country.
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Argentina Proposes Bill to Allow Dollar Contract Payments in Pesos
By Taos Turner
The Wall Street Journal
Monday, June 11, 2012
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120611-714077.html
BUENOS AIRES -- Argentine President Cristina Kirchner has submitted a bill to Congress that would allow debtors to pay U.S. dollar-denominated contracts in pesos.
The bill comes amid a broad government push to wean Argentines off their long-held preference to use dollars for major transactions. It's unclear if the bill will apply retroactively or if it could affect government debt.
In early August the government faces a $2.2 billion payment on the Boden 2012 dollar-denominated bond.
A spokesman for Mrs. Kirchner didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The bill, as currently written, would allow debtors to "free themselves" from paying from the dollar payment requirement by paying "the equivalent amount" in pesos.
The federal tax agency AFIP, which vets foreign-currency purchases, is thought to have approved very few requests to buy dollars in May. That fueled perceptions that a dollar-hungry government might resort to more draconian measures to make sure it has enough dollars on hand to pay creditors later this year.
... Dispatch continues below ...
Prophecy Platinum (TSXV:NKL) Announces Encouraging Rhodium, Ruthenium, Osmium,
Iridium Assays from WS11-188 of Wellgreen Project in Yukon Territory, Canada
Company Press Release
May 25, 2012
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Prophecy Platinum Corp. (TSX-V: NKL; OTC-QX: PNIKF; Frankfurt: P94P) is pleased to provide results of full spectrum 6E (Platinum, Palladian, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Osmium, and Iridium) analysis of platinum group elements on the first batch of samples from the company's wholly-owned Wellgreen PGM-Ni-Cu project in the Yukon Territory, Canada.
The company enlisted Activation Laboratories (Actlabs) of Ancaster, Ontario, to conduct a full-spectrum 6E analysis of samples taken from the 2011 drill hole WS11-188. Adding Rh, Ru, Os, and Ir to Pt and Pd increased the total PGE content (6E) by an average of 28 percent, based on a population of 90 samples, most of which are from disseminated sulphide-type mineralization.
Assay results with 6E exceeding 0.50 ppm (0.5 g/t) (excluding copper and gold assays) are tabulated at Prophecy's Internet site and are available with assay results from the entire batch of 90 samples here:
http://prophecyplat.com/news_2012_may25_prophecy_platinum_announces_rare...
Dollar scarcity has fueled a vibrant black market where Argentines can obtain the currency at a hefty premium over the official exchange rate.
The black-market rate now hovers around ARS5.90, according to local media. In contrast, the peso closed at ARS4.49 on the local wholesale foreign-exchange market Monday.
In an attempt to assuage public concern, Deputy Economy Minister Axel Kicillof recently said the government has no plans to ban the use of dollars in the domestic economy or convert dollar-denominated loans and contracts into pesos.
In recent weeks, Mrs. Kirchner and her ministers have declared a "cultural war" against Argentines' love affair with the dollar. In a recent speech, the president said she would voluntarily swap her dollar savings into pesos, as "it's more profitable."
According to local news reports, Mrs. Kirchner declared just over $3 million in dollar-denominated savings in her latest tax declaration. But talk of a forced or coerced "pesofication" of the economy isn't going away and it hurt some bonds Monday, according to Adrian Mayoral, a trader at his family brokerage.
"There is a lot of speculation about supposed plans to 'pesofy' the economy," Mr. Mayoral said. "I can't say if any of this is more than speculation, but it's affecting the market."
The Bonar 2015 dollar-denominated bond fell about 3.4% to ARS458.5 in part on speculation that the government might try to get out of making dollar payments on its debt.
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Sona Discovers Potential High-Grade Gold Mineralization
at Blackdome in British Columbia -- 13.6g over 1.5 Meters
From a Company Press Release
November 22, 2011
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- With its latest surface diamond drilling program at its 100-percent-owned, formerly producing Blackdome gold mine in southern British Columbia, Sona Resources Corp. has discovered a potentially high-grade gold-mineralized area, with one hole intersecting 13.6 grams of gold in 1.5 meters of core drilling.
"We intersected a promising new mineralized zone, and we feel optimistic about the assay results," says Sona's president and CEO, John P. Thompson. "We have undertaken an aggressive exploration program that has tested a number of target zones. Our discovery of this new gold-bearing structure is significant, and it represents a positive development for the company."
Sona aims to bring its permitted Blackdome mill back into production over the next year and a half, at a rate of 200 tonnes per day, with feed from the formerly producing Blackdome mine and the nearby Elizabeth gold deposit property. A positive preliminary economic assessment by Micon International Ltd., based on a gold price of $950 per ounce over eight years, has estimated a cash cost of $208 per tonne milled, or $686 per gold ounce recovered.
For the company's complete press release, please visit:
http://www.sonaresources.com/_resources/news/SONA_NR18_2011-opt.pdf
