Trading Summary (October 25, 2001)

After opening about 50 points lower, the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index tacked on 46.77 points to end at 6,943.7 on Thursday. Despite some grim third-quarter numbers from Canada’s gold majors, the Gold & Precious Minerals subindex was among the TSE’s bright spots gaining nearly 1.1% to 4,882.45 points. By day’s end ten of the TSE’s fourteen subindices were in the black. The base metal issues were among that number, but just barely, gaining 16.13 points to 3,718.88 points.

The gold issues were helped out by a stronger gold price in New York. The yellow metal finished the day at US$276.90 per oz., up US$1.90 from Wednesday’s finish. Silver edged up a penny top US44.20 per oz. and platinum and palladium each added US$3 per oz. to hit US$429 and US$318 per oz. Nickel and tin were the lone base metals to make modes advances on the London Metal Exchange; the rest suffered small losses.

Placer Dome again headed up the most active list of Canadian miners with nearly 4.5 million shares on the move. The issue gained 18 to $16.83 despite the company taking a US$292-million write down on the Getchell mine in Nevada. The move led to a third-quarter loss of US$211 million, or US65 per share.

Barrick Gold was the next closet rising 65 to $25.30 on more than 1.7 million shares. On Thursday, Barrick posted lower third-quarter earnings of US$ 66 million (or 17 per share), down from year-ago earnings of US$86 million (22 per share). Revenue between the two periods climbed slightly to US$317 million from US$312 million.

Another gold miner making some noise was NovaGold, which gained 13 or 7.2% to $1.93. The five latest holes by the company on the Donlin Creek gold deposit in Alaska have all cut high-grade gold mineralization. Two of the holes were collared on the little-explored 400 target, about 500 metres to the northwest of the Acma zone.

Inco was the nation’s busiest base metal issue gaining a dime to $22.76 on just less than 1.4 million shares. The rest of the lot saw similar modest movement. Alcan gained 30 to $51.80 on about 920,500 shares. On Thursday, the aluminum giant declared a quarterly dividend of US15 per share, payable on December 20, 2001, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 20, 2001. Teck Cominco regained more lost ground rising 38 to $10.38.

Canada’s junior exchange ended the day virtually unchanged with buyers apparently sitting on the sidelines. The Canadian Venture Exchange ended the day up 7.11 points, or 0.2% to finish the day at 2,945.30. The Mining Index ended the day up 1.27 points to close at 7,428.33.

Investors sold off shares in Quaterra Resources following the release of assay results from a four-hole drill program into the Union Bay platinum-palladium project in Alaska. The best results came from the first hole, which hit 10.6 grams platinum and 0.56 gram palladium over 0.5 metre from 19.1 metre down-hole. Quaterra ended the day at 17, down 5 on 686,100 shares.

Making nice gains on news that drilling has started on the Cordero gallium property in Humboldt County, Nevada, Gold Canyon Resources climbed 24 to $1.50 on 509,800 shares.

Samex Mining gave back yesterday’s 1 gain to close at 11 on 249,000 shares. Assay results from the first few holes of a planned 600-metre drill program over the Eskapa copper-gold property in Bolivia are expected shortly.

Starfield Resources continued to move higher on strong volume. Investors appear to be speculating that the company will find further indications of the high-grade, platinum-palladium zone cut in hole 101, which returned 103 grams palladium and 27 grams platinum over 0.35 metre. Shares in the junior added another 11 on the day to close at 66 on a volume of 814,920.

Despite reporting encouraging grades from the Greywacke gold property in Saskatchewan, shares in Masuparia Gold ended the day unchanged at 9 on a volume of 402,400. Located just north of La Ronge, the property had been previously drill by Cameco.