This morning, Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) was the latest gold player to report its corporate earnings. The good news is that the gold company revenues and earnings were up. The bad news is that it and Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) have run into continued delays in Chile, and the price of gold is not working in its favor today.

Precious metals reserves on properties subject to Royal Gold’s interests (net of depletion) were approximately 82.8 million ounces of gold and 1.15 billion ounces of silver. This is lower than the 84.5 million gold ounces and 1.2 billion silver ounces from a year earlier.

During the third quarter of fiscal 2013, the gold interest owner showed a 7% increase in its royalty revenue to $74.2 million, while operating cash flow rose by 43% to $68.1 million. A noncash loss was realized on its available-for-sale securities of $12.1 million associated with the common shares of Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE: SA) that were acquired as part of the June 2011 transaction regarding the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell Project. The company’s SEC filing shows its project by project updates.

It has been a very tough time for Royal Gold. Many of its gold investments were made when gold was higher, although it has many legacy projects from much lower gold prices on the books as well. The stock has drifted down to $53.69 from a 2012 peak of $100.84, and the stock is down almost 34% year-to-date in 2013.

Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE: SA) also has fallen on hard times, as its $11.07 price compares to a 52-week range of $9.63 to $20.34. Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down at $53.47, and its 52-week range is $17.51 to $43.30.

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