I don't believe that the mentioned "African Gold Zimbabwe" is AFG, but the article does demonstrate rapid resurgence of E&P in Zimbabwe:

Mining Giants Plan Massive Diamond Prospecting

The Herald (Harare)

January 22, 2004
Posted to the web January 22, 2004

Harare

MINING giants, De Beers Zimbabwe Prospecting Limited and Circle Three Mining Corporation are proposing a massive diamond prospecting project that will see the two companies prospecting for the mineral in Gweru, Harare, Bulawayo and Kadoma mining districts.

The two mining companies intend to prospect for diamond in areas covering a total of 448 180 hectares.


Another company, African Gold Zimbabwe, has also undertaken to prospect for gold on two areas measuring 120 550 hectares within the Harare and Gweru mining districts.

De Beers Zimbabwe Prospecting Limited, Circle Three Mining Corporation and African Gold Zimbabwe have applied to the Mining Affairs Board for an exclusive prospecting order for 12 areas under the four mining districts.

In the latest issue of the Government gazette, the Mining Affairs Board said De Beers, Circle Three Mining and African Gold Zimbabwe intend to prospect for diamonds and gold over an area of approximately 568 730 hectares from the three areas.

"The applicants intend to prospect for diamond within the areas, which have been reserved against prospecting pending determination of this application.

"Prospecting authority is sought upon registered base mineral blocks within the reservation," read part of the notice.

One of the two diamond prospecting projects to be undertaken by Circle Three Mining measures 65 000 hectares and is bounded by a line commencing on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border approximating five kilometres.

All areas, which have been earmarked for prospecting are within the 15 000 hectares and 65 000 hectares range and are mostly in the traditional mineral bearing areas of the country.

The proposal to prospect for diamond in the country comes at a time when the US$41 million Murowa Diamond Mine has started to operate following the successful relocation of 141 families which were on the mining site.

Mining is one of the sectors which has been depressed over the last five years but some of the players in the industry have said investors should look at non-traditional minerals.

An example that is often given is that of platinum, which is fast becoming the world's most lucrative mineral.

The mining of diamond in Zimbabwe is also fast gaining pace and it is expected that some of the mining projects would create a lot of employment.

Relevant Links

Southern Africa
Mining
Zimbabwe

COMEX gold leaps toward $400 on weak US jobs data
Reuters, 03.05.04, 8:50 AM ET

NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - COMEX gold jumped back toward $400 Friday morning on surprisingly weak U.S. jobs data.

April gold futures rose more than $5 to $399 an ounce after the Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose just 21,000 last month, well below the 125,000 expected by economists. And the previous month's payrolls rise was revised downward to 97,000 from 112,000.

Traders said the data showed the labor market has yet to join fully in the U.S. economic recovery. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained at 5.6 percent.

At 8:43 a.m. EST (1343 GMT), active April futures were up $4.30 at $397.80.

Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service

Judging by the charts (which can be seen on the advfn.com)for AFG..we are about to see a sharp rise.

I think we had today and early next week to buy..and than its moving northwards.

Metals stocks surge as gold climbs
Weak jobs report a boon to defensive investment

By Rachel Koning, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 5:00 PM ET March 5, 2004

CHICAGO (CBS.MW) -- Gold prices rallied to two-month highs Friday, topping $400, as the dollar swooned in the wake of disappointing U.S. job growth.

Gold for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 2.2 percent or $8.70 to $401.90 an ounce, the biggest gain in seven months, as the dollar fell nearly 2 percent against its European rivals. See Currencies.

The metal ended the week up 1.29 percent, its first weekly gain in the past three.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 21,000 in February, the U.S. Labor Department said. The results were far below Wall Street's expectations of 130,000. See Economic Report.

"The weak employment numbers led to a big bounce in the euro and gold naturally followed," said analyst Peter Grandich, who pens the The Grandich Letter. "The fact that gold never seriously violated key support in the $390-$395 area, gives gold bulls ammunition to believe the recent price decline was merely a correction and that correction may be over."

"My only caution is to await for at least a close above $406, and more importantly $415, before we break out the road map for $500 --a price target I still believe can be achieved before the bull run is over," he added.

The dollar rallied to three-month highs and gold to three-month lows earlier this week on bets for higher U.S. interest rates this year, which would boost demand for dollars as foreigners seek higher returns on U.S. assets, and cut demand for gold as an alternative anti-inflationary monetary source.

In the wake of Friday's report, short-term interest rate futures markets have sharply cut back the odds for a June or August rate hike, but still see some chance for a modest increase to the Fed's 1 percent target rate in September.

Silver for May delivery was up 2.2 cents or more than 3 percent to $6.99 an ounce. May copper was up 2.05 cents or 1.6 percent to $1.343 per pound.

On the supply end, copper supplies were down 776 short tons at 238,249 short tons as of late Thursday, according to Nymex. Silver stocks were up 4,820 troy ounces at 123.3 million troy ounces. Gold inventories stood at 3.48 million troy ounces, unchanged from the previous session.

The Philadelphia Gold & Silver index ($XAU: news, chart, profile) jumped 2.9 percent at 101.98. It rose 1.2 percent for the week.

The CBOE Gold Index ($GOX: news, chart, profile) rose 2.2 percent, to 87.93. It was up 1.7 percent for the week.

The AMEX Gold Bugs Index ($HUI: news, chart, profile) was up 2.8 percent at 232.17. It rose 2.8 percent for the week.

Shares of Newmont Mining (NEM: news, chart, profile) closed 3.3 percent higher at $43.96. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX: news, chart, profile) was up 1.5 percent at $43.32. Anglogold Ltd. (AU: news, chart, profile) was up 1.7 percent at $43.44.

Rachel Koning is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Chicago.

Technical Analysis: African Gold (AFG.L) Last Time Updated Saturday March 6

Short Term Commentary

Short term trend is strongly bearish, trendline slope is negative. Levels over 11.14 can act as a resistance if price bounces up.

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/tech/a/afg.l.html

Medium Term Commentary

Medium term price trend for African Gold is still bullish this week. This stock overperforms the FTSE 100 INDEX by 189.98 %. Volatility has been decreasing during last month. Be alert to the proximity of support 10.12 , and a possible rebound from this level.

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/tech/a/afg.l.html

Support 10.12 pence suggesting a rebound back up. We closed at a price of 10.25 pence which if we hold should see a big rebound back up.

This stock is much less risky than when I bought in originally at just over 6p. Cash in the bank, stronger management and now interests outside of Zimbarbwe make it a safer company to be in IMO.

Mining is risky because they may find the stuff but can they economically and politically get it out once they have. Mugarbe wont go on forever.

It is only 3 weeks since the placing so hardly time to assess the validity of the new options.

I suspect the institutions who bought in would like more shares at this level because to have bought at 9p they must be expecting at least 20p maybe even 50p. In the absense of confirmed finds they will just move the price around and try to get you to give up your shares. Any decent sized order is still delayed so they can play it to their hearts content. When you are tempted to sell remember Brancote and go and look at the Oxus and AFD charts. This could fly.

Morning all. Good start to the day. 20p here we come!!

Been away for a month and missed all the action on Afr Gold. Didnt miss much good news by the look of it but am interested to see what Mugabe's health problems did to the stock. Suppose its another reason to want to be rid of the old loon.

Hi everyone,

The price is rising today as expected. Should see some good gains this week.

Delayed 250,000 buy reported at 11.5 pence.

Price stable at 10.5-12.0 pence.

News on one operation still to come.

Strong Buy.

I have not yet seen the 250,000 buy you reported this morning, sue.

It's there, it came through around 10-11am I believe. Half an hour ago a buy has been reported for 125,000 shares at 11.75 pence.

250,000 at 10.50 pence went through 10.33am with one hour delay was a sell

I think it could have been a buy because on the online quotes the price was a penny cheaper to buy for most of the time today.

Closing at 10.5-11.75 pence.

With the online spread being 10.5-11 pence.

The price has nearly crossed the ten and fifty day moving averages. Fully crossed should provide a much bigger bounce back up.

Gold falls, but off lows on sales pledge
Copper also slips; silver static; mining shares end lower

By Myra P. Saefong, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:34 PM ET March 8, 2004


SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) --Gold futures fell Monday after rising nearly $9 an ounce in the previous session, but prices closed well off session lows following a pledge by certain European central banks to renew a pact that limits gold sales.

Gold for April delivery closed at $400.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 70 cents for the session, but above the intraday low of $399.20. The contract climbed 2.2 percent on Friday.

Twelve European central banks said they will renew their agreement to limit gold sales to 500 metric tons per year for the next five years. The agreement commences on Sept. 27, when a previous pact, known as the Washington Agreement, expires.

The pledge "was not motivated by any concern from gold producers, but rather by the central banks' self interest in preserving the value of gold," Alberto Arias, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, said in a research note Monday.

The World Gold Council said the decision "reflects the central banks' understanding of the gold market," according to a report by AFX News. The council applauded the move by the banks to identify gold as an important element of global monetary reserves.

The U.K. government has said it won't participate in the pact, though it has no plans to sell gold from reserves, AFX also reported.

Sales limit seen as 'bullish'

The market was generally expecting the agreement to entail 550 metric tons per annum, so "only 500" is actually bullish, said John Vail, a senior strategist at Mizuho Securities USA. The previous pact, however, had a smaller limit of 400 metric tons.

While Germany's Bundesbank is part of the deal, it may not sell any gold from its reserves "because the majority of [its] board is not supportive of selling any," said Vail.

Though the pact won't take effect until September, the "perception" of agreement has provided some market support, he said.

Forex rules for short term

For shorter-term direction, the metals market continues to take its directional cue from the currency exchange.

The U.S. dollar hit a five-month high against the Japanese yen Monday, amid bets Japanese authorities will continue to defend their export market by buying greenbacks. See Currencies.

Weak U.S. employment data -- a much smaller-than-expected 21,000 rise in nonfarm payrolls for February -- weighed on the dollar Friday, and in turn sent gold higher. See Economic Report.

In other metals trading, silver for May delivery closed at $6.99 per ounce, unchanged from the previous session. May copper ended down 4.6 cents at $1.297 per pound.

On the supply end, copper supplies were down 891 short tons at 237,358 short tons as of late Friday, according to Nymex. Silver stocks were up 586,485 troy ounces at 123.9 million troy ounces. Gold inventories stood at 3.495 million troy ounces, up 16,636 troy ounces from the previous session.

Platinum for April delivery rose $7 to close at $894 an ounce. June palladium climbed $14.10 to end at $266.85 an ounce.

Equities fall after mixed session

Metals equities mirrored the overall mixture of trading in metals futures for most of the session, but ended mainly lower.

The Philadelphia Gold & Silver index ($XAU: news, chart, profile) fell by 1.1 percent to close at 100.88 and the CBOE Gold Index ($GOX: news, chart, profile) lost 0.8 percent to close at 87.22.

But the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI: news, chart, profile) closed down 1.4 percent at 229.01.

Leading decliners were shares of Ashanti Goldfields (ASL: news, chart, profile) and Harmony Gold (HMY: news, chart, profile), which closed down by 3 percent.

Myra P. Saefong is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.

Chart.

Inverse Head and Shoulders forming now chaps, the price is bouncing off the 50-day moving average, the RSI is below 20, and the MACD is.about to cross... Now how many signs do you need to tell you that this is gonna BLOW!!!

I can only see one way, and that is up....Hold on to your hats. Someone has been supporting this price in the background. and I bet the MM's know who...

Gold climbs, silver at 6-year peak
Dollar, stock market lose ground; mining shares rise

By Myra P. Saefong, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:49 PM ET March 9, 2004


SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Gold futures climbed as much as $5 an ounce to trade at their loftiest level in over two weeks Tuesday afternoon, as silver futures touched fresh six-year highs.


A general weakness in the dollar and broader stock market, as well as a new plan for certain European central banks to limit gold sales, sent investors back to the precious metals market.

"As silver futures sliced through contract highs taking out buy stops, gold was not to be left on the sidelines and it confidently rallied," said Erik Gebhard, president of Altavest Worldwide Trading.

"Investors and funds appear compelled to chase prices higher for fear of missing an even more substantial move," he said.

Silver for May delivery climbed 14 cents to stand at $7.13 per ounce after peaking at $7.155. Futures prices haven't traded at a level this high since February 1998.

Gold for April delivery traded as high as $406.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange -- a level not seen since Feb. 20. At last check, it was at $405.30, up $4.40.

Central bank pact aids gold's climb

"Fears of dramatically higher central bank sales have now eased thanks to the latest accord," said Peter Grandich, editor of investment publication The Grandich Letter.

Twelve European central banks agreed to limit their total combined gold sales to 500 metric tons per year for the next five years. The agreement commences on Sept. 27, when a previous pact, known as the Washington Agreement, expires.

With that in the backdrop, and "after several weeks of high volatility, gold is attempting to re-establish its march towards $500 an ounce," said Grandich.

Overall, "ups and downs of the euro remain gold's largest influencing factor," he said.

The U.S. dollar was modestly weaker against its currency rivals Tuesday. The fall in the dollar aided gold's climb. See Currencies.

The U.S. presidential race and inflation fears will likely drive daily movements as the market moves into spring and summer, Grandich noted.

And looking further ahead, "the fiscal health of the U.S. in regards to budget and trade deficits, combined with a continuing loose monetary policy and substantially higher oil prices ... should become important factors gold bulls and bears will toss around going forward," he said.

Silver rally

Futures traders continue to "take advantage of [silver's] relative cheapness in comparison to the other base and precious metal despite the overbought indicators," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a note to clients.

"Prices have risen dramatically over the past months as speculators, both large and small, have piled into the market," Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management, said in a research update.

"Prices have risen over $1 per ounce over the past three months, even as the fundamentals of the silver market deteriorate rapidly," he said.

May copper, however, traded down 3.1 cents at $1.266 per pound.

"The doubling of copper prices in the past nine months was accompanied by sharply declining inventories in London and other locations -- bearing full justice to the rally," said Kaplan.

But during that period, silver inventories were generally rising as the price moved higher, he noted.

On the supply end, copper supplies were down 1,001 short tons at 236,357 short tons as of late Monday, according to Nymex. Silver stocks were down 491,347 troy ounces at 123.4 million troy ounces.

Gold inventories stood at 3.53 million troy ounces, up 34,937 troy ounces from the previous session.

Platinum for April delivery rose $4 to trade at $898 an ounce. June palladium shed $6.85 to $260 an ounce.

Equities head higher

Mining equities followed gold and silver higher, after ending Monday's session with narrow declines.

The Philadelphia Gold & Silver index ($XAU: news, chart, profile) rose by 0.9 percent to trade at 101.76 and the CBOE Gold Index ($GOX: news, chart, profile) added 0.9 percent to 87.96.

But the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI: news, chart, profile) traded at 229.92, up 0.4 percent.

Leading gainers among the indexes were shares of Durban Deep (DROOY: news, chart, profile), up 4.9 percent, and Hecla Mining (HL: news, chart, profile), up 4.7 percent.

Myra P. Saefong is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.