“ It is amazing to see many of these P.M. miners missing on production and cost estimates. See below for more insight from CDE; one of the more reputable silver producers.

“ Third-quarter adjusted profit $0.29 vs est $0.43
* Total metal sales $230.6 mln, down 33 pct
* Cuts upper end of full-year silver output forecast by a million ounces

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for this informative email. Barrick and Newmont announced cost overruns and missed spending targets last week and Coeur d'Alene followed suit this week. These are the latest in a catalogue of cost overruns that have featured in the loss of confidence exhibited by investors in the gold mining sector over the last year.

Gold miners face serious problems with declining ore quality and inflated costs for developing new supply. While an increasing number have adopted a more responsible attitude towards paying dividends over the last year, their yields are still not yetcompetitive with the wider market.

There is a clear divergence between the performance of miners that have succeeded in managing costs and those which have not. (Also see my review of the Gold Bugs Index on November 1st).