Gold M&A - Lundin Gold - Fortress to acquire Fruta Del Norte Gold project from Kinross

The Lundin family are buying .
Having paid $1.8bn to take control of the Candelaria Copper mining complex in Chile from Freeport McMoran, subsequently streaming the precious metals for financing, the Lundins are now buying what some consider the best Gold discovery of the last decade from Kinross (who bought out the Fruta Del Norte project from Aurelian) for only $240m.
(Longer release)
The mark down from Kinross' price of $1.2bn reflects the inability to agree a commercial mining regime with Ecuador, in particular a 70% windfall tax.
Ross Beaty also recently invested in Ecuador, in Odin mining.
Can Ecuador work with the new miners?
As pointed out by IKN why explore and develop when productive and advanced assets are for sale.

Junior Gold Mining M&A - Semafo Propose Acquisition of Orbis Gold

Semafo are bidding around AU$150m for Aussie Listed Orbis and their Natougou high grade gold project in Burkina Faso.
Orbis had recently seen a $20m partnership proposal with Greenstone Resources LP Private Equity run by Michael Haworth ex JP Morgan and Mark Sawyer ex Xstrata and Rio Tinto.

Brent Cook - Insight on Junior Gold Market

Podcast at The Northern Miner - (free month subscriptions at Northern Miner)

US Dollar - Exhorbitant Burden? Michael Pettis

Pettis continues the reserve currency discussion

Golden Rule - Alan Greenspan on Chinese Gold Buying - Foreign Affairs

Not the usual goldbug crowd, but former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan writing in the influential Foreign Affairs. 
Whilst the gold price is currently weak, the facts of continued central bank ownership of gold and recent accumulation, in particular by China, continue to intrigue  

If China were to convert a relatively modest part of its $4 trillion foreign exchange reserves into gold, the country’s currency could take on unexpected strength in today’s international financial system.

If the dollar or any other fiat currency were universally acceptable at all times, central banks would see no need to hold any gold. The fact that they do indicates that such currencies are not a universal substitute.  

What is not really discussed is why China would seek a stronger currency at a time we are seeing competitive global currency devaluations, with Japan and the Eurozone following the US to QE and