CENTRASIA MINING CORP

Current Price: 0.85

Centrasia Mining Corp (TSX-V: CTM) had a superb day on the markets Friday as shareholders witnessed a 21.43% increase in share value with 20,500 shares exchanging hands throughout the day. In a month to month comparison Centrasia Mining has shown a $0.25 improvement climbing closer towards its 52 week high before the Christmas. Our research team believes that a recent announcement may have contributed to these results. PinnacleDigest recognizes the significance of the sector on individual companies such as Centrasia Mining. Our team felt that it would be prudent to investigate this connection further in the article below.

Gold settled at $628.40 US an ounce Friday, showing a loss of $5.90 following news of a strengthening dollar and a weakening in the price of oil. Gold is used by many investors as a hedge against inflation and a slowing economy. Over the last month gold has shown a steady improvement flirting with $650 US an ounce. The question everyone is asking is what the future may hold for this precious metal?

December has been a busy month for Centrasia as two relatively large announcements have taken effect. According to representatives, the company has negotiated a non-brokered private placement of 4,000,000 units at $0.50 per unit, each unit consisting of one share and one half of one non-transferable warrant, each full warrant will entitle the holder to buy one share of Centrasia at $0.75 for a period of 18 months from closing. The gross proceeds of $2,000,000 will be used to conduct exploration programs on the Company's existing mineral exploration properties in Kyrgyzstan, for the acquisition of new properties, and for general working capital. Finders' fees of $65,000 and 130,000 units will be payable. The private placement is subject to regulatory approval.

In other news, Damien E. Reynolds has been appointed to the board of Directors,. Mr. Reynolds has an impressive track record with projects of merit around the world and also for his ability to raise capital for junior companies. He is the Chairman and chief executive officer of Longview Capital Partners, a profitable global resource group. Mr. Reynolds is also the chairman of Buffalo Gold and the chairman of Bayswater Uranium. In conjunction with his appointment, Mr. Reynolds has been granted an option to purchase up to 200,000 shares of the Company at $0.60 per share for a period of five years. With so much going on in the company it will be interesting to see how the share value reacts. PinnacleDigest will be closely monitoring Centrasia Mining into the New Year.

Instead of attempting to explain why gold went down, let’s take a look at why the dollar moved up. In a recent announcement, the dollar bounced back from session lows after the Institute for Supply Management said its ISM service index rose to 58.9% in November from 57.1% in October. This level has not been attained since May and is a substantial rise.

Although many feel the drop in oil has contributed to the drop in gold, the real culprit for this downturn in gold is the latest strength in the dollar. "A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of other currencies and as a result, gold often moves counter to the US currency," stated Societe General Analyst Stephen Briggs. Although the dollar has shown some momentum as of late, PinnacleDigest does not believe that gold will continue on this downward trend. In fact, if the economy does not show some significant improvement to kick off the New Year gold may see highs that have not been reached since the spring of 2006.