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Sprott''s Embry lauds GATA''s Murphy at Vancouver conference

Section: Daily Dispatches

10:20a PT Monday, January 26, 2004

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Here's some news showing growing recognition of the
potential of the private remonetization of gold: Durban
Roodeport Deep's acquisition of a share of GATA
consultant James Turk's GoldMoney.com.

The only thing wrong here is that the press release
and news stories about the transaction calculated
its costs in dollars rather than goldgrams.

It often is said that gold doesn't pay interest. (Gold's
advocates reply that gold doesn't pay interest
because, being close to free of risk, it doesn't have
to.) But this is no longer correct or relevant.

Today what doesn't pay interest is the U.S. dollar.

Consider the GATA supporter who has had a
U.S. retirement savings account (401-k plan) with
a balance of more than $100,000, held in the plan's
money-market fund. For a year he complained that the
plan's manager did not provide the option of a
precious metals or mining stock fund. And then last
year his annual account statement showed that the
fund's management fee for his account, a fee that
was not at all out of line, exceeded what his account
had earned in interest, U.S. money-market fund
interest rates being so low, below even the
acknowledged inflation rate.

That is, he was actually LOSING money by saving it
in U.S. dollars -- not to mention the continuing
devaluation of the dollar against foreign currencies,
which has exceeded 20 percent in the last year.

So last year he stopped contributing to his retirement
savings plan and opened an account -- they call it
a quot;holdingquot; -- at GoldMoney, arranging for GoldMoney
to debit his checking account by $100 per month to buy
gold as a form of regular savings in gold. Thanks to
gold's steady appreciation in dollars, within eight
months, starting from scratch, he had gained more
value on $800 in his GoldMoney holding than he had
earned on more than $100,000 in his retirement savings
plan's money-market fund.

This GATA supporter can't be the only person in the
United States noticing the devaluation of the dollar
in very practical terms and looking for an alternative
currency and savings vehicle.

This would seem to be the future of the gold and
silver industry ... if, that is, the industry can get
its nose out of the ground long enough to want a
future, as GoldMoney and Durban Deep plainly do.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

* * *

a href=http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/040126/0825000742_2.htmlhttp://biz.yahoo.com/d...

South Africa's Durban Deep Takes Stake In Internet Company

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 26 (Dow Jones) -- Gold miner
Durban Roodepoort Deep Ltd. said Monday it has paid
$200,000 to take an initial 1.4 percent stake in
GoldMoney.com, an Internet-based gold marketing
company.

In a statement, DRD, which mines around 1 million ounces
of gold a year, said it has an option to increase its stake
to 14.3 percent of the company for a total investment of
$2 million.

GoldMoney, launched by James Turk, has around 10,000
customers globally and holds around 30,000 ounces of
gold in storage for them.

Through GoldMoney, gold is stored in vaults but only units
of account called goldgrams are exchanged. A goldgram
represents a buyer's ownership of a portion of gold held for
GoldMoney customers in a secure vault.

GoldMoney's servers keep track of purchasers' ownership
of goldgrams and the gold held is insured by Lloyds of
London.

quot;We look forward to growing our association with
GoldMoney,quot; said Ian Murray, DRD's chief executive.

He said the GoldMoney's services should gain more
prominence as international markets seek alternatives to
the dollar as the currency for international trade.

GoldMoney's Turk said gold is not only a metal but
is becoming a form of currency.quot;We believe there is huge
potential for gold to be used for low-cost online payments
worldwide as people are now doing with GoldMoney,quot; said
Turk. quot;Using gold in this way will increase its demand to the
benefit of the industry.quot;

* * *

a href=http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040126/minerals_drd_goldmoney_1.htmlhttp://biz.y...

Durban Deep invests in online gold firm

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 26 (Reuters) -- South African gold
producer Durban Roodpoort Deep said on Monday it had
bought a stake in online trading firm GoldMoney.com, which
enables investors to buy and sell gold or purchase other
items using it.

DRD said it had bought a 1.4 percent stake in GoldMoney
for $200,000 and had the option to buy more later.

GoldMoney offers a market in so-called goldgrams -- which
represent a gram of pure gold held by the firm -- and can be
transferred online instantly.

Gold is traditionally seen as a store of value in times of
economic insecurity and is currently offering attractive returns
in dollar terms as the U.S. currency sags.

quot;We see gold not only as a metal but also as a form of
currency,quot; GoldMoney founder James Turk said in a statement.
quot;We believe there is huge potential for gold to be used for more
low-cost online payments.quot;

DRD said its initial investment in GoldMoney included an option
to increase its stake to $2 million or 14.3 percent of the firm at a
later stage.

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----------------------------------------------------

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WHO HAVE SUPPORTED GATA
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3033 East 1st Ave.
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www.USAGold.com
Michael Kosares, Proprietor
US (800) 869-5115
Canada 1-800-294-9462
European Union 00-800-2760-2760
Australia 0011-800-2760-2760
cpm@usagold.com

Colorado Gold
222 South 5th St.
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Don Stott, Proprietor
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Gold@gwe.net

Investment Rarities Inc.
7850 Metro Parkwa
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Greg Westgaard, Sales Manager
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Kitco
178 West Service Road
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Toll Free:1-877-775-4826
Fax: 518-298-3457
and
620 Cathcart, Suite 900
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Toll-free:1-800-363-7053
Fax: 514-875-6484
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Lee Certified Coins
P.O. Box 1045
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15018 North Tatum Blvd.
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Dr. Fred I. Goldstein, Senior Broker
1-800-BUY-COIN
FiGoldstein@swissamerica.com

----------------------------------------------------

HOW TO HELP GATA

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GATA. We welcome contributions as follows.

By check:

Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
c/o Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer
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USA

By credit card (MasterCard, Visa, and
Discover) over the Internet:

a href=http://www.gata.org/creditcard.htmlhttp://www.gata.org/creditcard.html/a

By GoldMoney:

a href=http://www.GoldMoney.comhttp://www.GoldMoney.com/a
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Holding number 50-08-58-L

Donors of $750 or more will, upon request,
be sent a print of Alain Despert's colorful
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