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Gold's miserable 2013 has been devastating for gold stocks. This sector, arguably the best performing over the 2000s, has quickly become the pariah of the markets. And no group of gold stocks has seen more carnage than the junior explorers. Descriptive of their name, junior gold explorers are small mining companies that explore for gold. And within this sub-sector is a wide spectrum of exploration stages, from early-stage to advanced-stage. Early-stagers are either in the process of looking for a gold deposit, or are in the beginning stages of delineating one. In some cases they've moved to resource definition, but any inventory estimates are still rough due to their deposits not yet seeing enough drill holes. Resources would be categorized as "in-house" or "inferred" (as measured by NI 43-101 standards), and they're nowhere near reliable enough to build an operating and/or economic model. Advanced-stage junior gold explorers already have gold deposits. And these deposits have seen enough drill holes to give a greater confidence in their depth/breadth and resource estimates. In this stage resources are categorized as measured and/or indicated, and in some cases proven and/or probable reserves.

Tana Goldfields United Kingdom Plans to reopen the Cononish mine near Tyndrum in Stirlingshire have been delayed due to falling gold prices. Scotgold Resources said the project remained viable and would generate a cashflow of more than £39m before tax over its first seven years of operation, at current gold prices. But it warned that the fluctuating price had dented market confidence. As a result, Scotgold said it had decided not to seek further funding for the scheme until conditions improved. A study has predicted that once operational, the mine could produce up of 20,200 ounces of gold a year. At current prices, that would give the Cononish project a rate of return of about 37% before tax and see the initial investment repaid within 26 months of the start of production. However, Scotgold said the market remained wary after gold prices fell by more than 9% at the beginning of April, the biggest drop for 30 years. Challenging market The depressed market has made the company reconsider plans to seek additional funds to bring the mine into full production. Executive chairman John Bentley said: "The recent sharp decline in the gold price has severely dented market confidence, albeit that there has been significant positive movement since the lows recorded on 15 April 2013. "The potential to raise the required equity financing for the project is considered to be severely challenging under current market conditions. "The board has thus decided to defer an immediate raise pending an improvement in market sentiment." Mr Bentley said the firm would now not be approaching investors until the gold price "calms down". Last November, the mining company secured a pre-development loan worth nearly £1.2m from RMB Resources to help continue the drilling programme at the mine in the Loch Lomond National Park. Considering options Mr Bentley said RMB still backed the scheme and was "evaluating project debt ca