Trading Summary (August 08, 2003)

The Toronto Stock Exchange advanced again on Friday, as the TSX Composite index rose 71.69 points to close at 7,251.96. Only the information technology and real estate stocks were left behind in the advance, which was led by a 4.5% jump in the golds.

That came partly out of a rise in the gold price during the day, from a London afternoon fix of US$353.95 per oz. to a Comex close in the mid-US$356 range. Jittery U.S. markets may have had some influence in pushing the golds higher, too. But at any rate, the TSX Gold index was 8.30 points higher at 190.97.

The volume leader was Bema Gold, which has emerged as a bit of a market favorite in recent weeks. Bema closed at $2.74, up 31, on a volume of 6.6 million shares.

The past week has also seen a revival in the fortunes of development-stage Gabriel Resources, which was up 43 to $3.08 on the day, a 16% price move that led all the stocks on the index.

Another heavy trader was Placer Dome, which has had the best fortunes of the big three Toronto golds in the recent rally. Placer was up 75 to $18.50 on a volume of 5.7 million shares. Barrick Gold was more lightly traded, with only 1.9 million moving, and rose 88 to $25.68. The big winner among the mid-tiers was Glamis Gold, which was up $1.38 to $19.33.

Off-index gold producer Cambior announced it was out from under hedge commitments made as a condition of earlier loan agreements. With a new $100-million equity issue, the company’s balance sheet was healthy enough that lenders were ready to waive both revenue-protection and a requirement that Cambior pre-pay its credit facility out of the proceeds of the share issue.

The TSX Metals and Mining index was also higher, rising 0.45 of a point to 142.89. Ivanhoe Mining was both the big mover and the most active, climbing 19 to $4.98 on a volume of 2.7 million shares. LionOre Mining International was up 19 to $6.54, but most of the other base-metal issues were up only fractionally.

Teck Cominco B-series shares added 2 to close at $12.52, on news from the Morelos gold project in Mexico, where Teck has a 79% interest. Drill holes at the project’s Los Guajes prospect have defined a new zone of skarn-hosted gold mineralization, with some bonanza-grade intersections.

The only base-metal miner falling back was Sherritt International, which was down 25 at $4.75. Sherritt announced it had earned $33.6 million on revenues of $221 million in the second quarter of 2003, an improvement over last year’s second-quarter figures.

Canada’s junior exchange ended the trading week higher with advancing issues out pacing declining stocks by a 333-to-296 margin. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index gained 3.22 points, or 0.26%, and closed at 1,222.82.

Kalahari Resources added 2.5 to close at 21.5 on just over 1 million shares traded. The junior recently tabled an independent study on the Lamaque gold property in the Val d’Or area of Quebec.

KWG Resources dropped 0.5 to close at 10 on light volume. At last report, the junior, along with partner Spider Resources completed holes 9 and 10 on the McFauld Lake massive sulphide project on the Spider #3 property in the James Bay lowlands of Ontario. Hole 9tested for mineralization below the intercept cut in hole 8 (3.39% copper over 5.6 metres followed by 7.64% zinc over 4.1 metres) and cut 3 metres grading 1.07% zinc followed by a 5.8 metre section running 2.93% copper further down the hole. Holes 10 and 11 are collared 150 metres northeast with hole 10 yielding 3.3 metres grading 8.2% zinc and 1 metre grading 1.94% copper. Spider ended the day up a penny at 10.5 on 601,000 shares traded.