Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange declines further and stay below 450 points

[SMM Gold flash] One Bullion has completed the second hole of its approximately 3,000-metre diamond-drilling programme at the Vumba gold project in northeastern Botswana. VUDD018 reached 350.85 metres at the Central–Makoba target, while drilling had started on the third hole, VUDD019. Preliminary visual logging recorded repeated silica–carbonate alteration, quartz–carbonate veining and arsenopyrite with lesser pyrite. The oblique hole gives the explorer a second structural view of the Central–Makoba system and will contribute to its three-dimensional geological model. No assays from VUDD018 were available, however, and visual alteration, veining and sulphides do not establish gold grade, mineralised width or economic significance. Laboratory results and QA/QC review are therefore required before the target can be assessed.

[SMM Precious Metals Flash] Spot gold fell 0.9% to US$4,140.06 an ounce by 18:33 GMT on 2 October and was down about 3.4% for the week, Reuters reported. US gold futures settled 1% lower at US$4,162.30. Bullion reversed an earlier gain of more than 1% despite weaker-than-expected September US payroll growth, as elevated Treasury yields and the dollar’s weekly strength pressured non-yielding metals. The reversal shows that weaker employment data alone was insufficient to overcome pressure from interest-rate expectations and long-dated bond yields. Platinum also fell 2% to US$1,692.90, while palladium declined 0.5% to US$1,165.75, with all major precious metals heading for weekly losses. These figures are Reuters’ stated 2 October market snapshots, not current live quotations.

[SMM Gold Flash] Afaq Mining has identified a deposit containing about 305,000 ounces of gold at the West Gabal Elba concession in Egypt’s southeastern desert, chairman Mostafa Elbahr told Reuters during the Egypt Mining Forum held on 28–29 September. The privately owned Egyptian company plans to invest about US$146 million over four to five years in further exploration and an initial production facility; the spending and production have not yet occurred. The disclosure adds a prospective source beyond Sukari, which currently dominates Egypt’s modern gold output. It also supports the government’s ambition to lift national production to 800,000 ounces annually by 2030 from roughly 500,000 ounces at Sukari. Reuters did not characterise Afaq’s figure as a mineable reserve or report that its facility had been built; commercial production would still depend on further technical work, permits and financing.