Not knowing anything about this sector. Can anyone point me in the right direction especially minig co's on the FTSE with interests in China and also gold. A sad gap in my education.
Much appreciated in advance

thistle is a gud one.
THISTLE MINING (THT : TSX : C$0.60) - BUY -
12-MONTH TARGET PRICE: C$1.75 ... Mike Jones

Comment: Thistle announces that it has restructured its hedge book

Thistle announces that it has restructured its hedge book to
crystallize a US$7 million cash gain and increase the benefit it will gain from a rising gold price. The cash raised will be used to further develop the
expansion at the President Steyn Gold Mines complex in South Africa, with
production set to rise from the planned 220,000 ounces per annum to at least
280,000 ounces per annum. The company has also announced the completion of the
acquisition of the underlying royalties and convertible notes via the
96.8% accepted acquisition of the JSE listed PS Gold. The company will
now move to compulsory acquisition of the remaining minorities. The
effective cash funding, buying in of the royalty and convertible, and telegraphed production profile increase have led us to raise our target price to
C$1.75 from C$1.60.

Sinutab, that research note is, I believe, about 6 months old. Their BUY recommendation is still in place, but they have lowered their price target to CA$1.35 (72p, I think, for the AIM listed shares). This revision took place at the end of August, due to the continued strngth of the Rand.

oh thankyou. 72p its a lot higher than the price in the market.

See www.goldmoney .com

SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) - Gold futures tumbled as much as 12 usd an ounce
Monday, closing at their lowest level in nearly a week following a run that
brought the metal just shy of the key 400 usd barrier, dealers said.
December gold closed at 391.50 usd an ounce, down 6.50 usd on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. At its lowest point, prices fell 12 usd to touch 386 usd --
the biggest intraday decline since early October.
The contract rose to a high of 399.40 usd an ounce Friday, and gained nearly
15 usd for all of last week, but it hasn't been able to breach 400 usd -- a
level it has not seen since March 1996.
"Dealers are nervous buying in front of this milestone 400 dollar level,"
said John Person, head financial analyst at Infinity Brokerage Services.
"Short-term investors who believe they can get back on board the gold ride are
exiting after the market was incapable of trading above 400 dollars in overseas
markets," he said.
Still, there's a "good chance" gold may hit 400 usd this week, with the US
dollar trading "poorly in periods bereft of important economic data," John
Reade, an analyst at UBS Investment Bank, wrote in a report to clients.
On Monday, the dollar gained ground against the yen and euro, and major
stock indexes fell -- a backdrop that would usually be bullish for gold, if not
for its recent climb to seven-year highs.
All in all, gold investors' commitment to the gold market "stems from both
superb and compelling rationale," said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector
Asset Management in a note to clients.
Since the beginning of 2002, the dollar has fallen some 23 pct, "and is
almost universally though to be going lower longer term, he said. At the same
time, gold has climbed 36 pct.
General weakness in the equity markets, growing concerns over inflation, and
the "frightening geopolitical condition" related to recent terrorist activity,
are all reasons that the "gold market will continue its march to higher prices,"
he said.
Among the events this week likely to have the biggest impact on the trading
of gold, more economic data is due from the US, with much of it likely positive,
said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London.
Business conditions at manufacturers in the New York region improved
substantially for the second straight month in November, the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York said Monday.
US businesses also increased their inventories of unsold goods by 0.3 pct in
September, the first increase since March, the Commerce Department reported.
In addition to the week's data, "the continuing rise in terrorist activities
will also have an effect on the market, increasing the safe-haven premium,
particularly following the Bombing of Jewish Synagogues in Istanbul over the
weekend," Moore said.
But with the yellow metal "now challenging the psychologically significant
400 dollar level, expect more coverage and investor interest going forward,"
said Grady Garrett, chief trading strategist at EnergyTrendAlert.com, a
commodity information provider.
"The economic strength ... is setting the stage for a positive setup for
gold," he said.
"The reality of a sustainable recovery is going to mean a burst of inflation
should eventually occur," he explained -- an environment that is usually
positive for gold prices.
In other Nymex trading, silver futures dropped back along with gold, after
closing Friday at their highest level in three years.
December silver fell by 18.8 cents to close at 5.227 usd an ounce.
Last week, the silver market staged a "massive rally," to gain some 35 cents
an ounce. "The silver market is much thinner than gold, ... and just a bit of
speculative fervor was enough to catapult prices higher," Prospector's Kaplan
said.
"Silver prices have followed gold, almost slavishly, and this much be
considered a major benefit to silver bulls," he said, adding that he expects
this trend to continue -- "look for this correlation to strengthen as time
passes," he said.


cheers GF.