() New York – It was beginning to look like gold prices would continue heading down with no short-term return to the  $1200 level, but on Friday gold finished the week up over $1,180 while gold stocks followed.  Investors are now watching to see which mining stocks will be the hot play going into August.

The Gold Composite finished the week up 1.52% at 1011.1, while in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index finished the session Friday up 0.03% at 96.52 after reaching a session high of 96.72.

The Kitco Gold Index leaned towards precious metals buying as the predominant factor in the gold price closing up on Friday. Spot gold closed at $1181.40 on the bid for a gain of $14.90, or 1.28%.

A quick scan of the headlines Friday showed doubt looking forward as to the direction of gold prices over the next few months, though gold stocks themselves will be reporting results for the third quarter based on gold bullion prices which will most likely remain above $1150 per ounce on the spot market.  Even if prices dip into the $1100 range the companies in production will enjoy strong third quarter results.  Yet amongst the junior exploration group, a handful of companies will see a strong surge in investor interest this fall as demand for mineable properties continues to rise, especially those located within North America.

Barrick gold (NYSE: ABX) said on Thursday that it earned $783 million, or 79 cents per share, in the second quarter, an increase of 59 percent.  That was up from $492 million, or 56 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Gold production rose 4.1 percent to 1.94 million ounces, from 1.87 million ounces a year earlier. On average it collected $1,205 per ounce, up 29.4 percent from $931 during the same period last year.

Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC) closed up 22 cents, or 1.36%, at $16.39 Friday, largely due to favorable comments by The Street and Minyanville on Thursday.

Amongst the junior gold companies, Silverado Gold Mines Ltd (Otcbb: SLGLF) finished the week up 14.29% at $0.0048 on a 25% lift in its 90-day daily trading volume average, though no news has been released since it filed its quarterly report on July 15.

Seeing new life and bright prospects in its future, Gryphon Gold Corp. (TSX: GGN) rose 5% to close at $0.11 after reaching a new 52-week low of $0.095 earlier in the trading day.  The company announced Friday that it had successfully completed its Phase 1 drilling program on its Borealis property in SW Nevada.  Gryphon had been spotted by micro cap stock guru Matt Chipman, who publishes one of the best performing financial newsletters of the year, TheGreenBaron.com.  Chipman gave Gryphon a nod Friday in one of his market commentary appearances on MoneyTV in Los Angeles.  The former stock broker said he was watching Gryphon, which usually means his more-than 1 million loyal followers will begin watching the company as well.   Gryphon is one of the few junior gold exploration and development companies with several million in cash in the bank and all permitting in place to operate a working mine at its Borealis property, which is in the Walker Lane gold belt in Nevada.

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Tags: Gold, Gold Stocks