Trading Summary (August 18, 2004)

The Toronto Stock Exchange shed 9.19 points to end Wednesday’s trading session at 8,222.99 points. Saved from the slide were the golds, up 0.92 of a point to 190.72, and the diversified miners, plus 0.2 of a point at 219.04.

Shares in Ivanhoe Mines shot up 28, or 5.3%, to $5.55 after the company reported that additional exploration had boosted all of the inferred resources in the southern Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia to the measured and indicated category. That category now contains 511.6 million tonnes of material grading 0.64% copper and 0.59 gram gold per tonne, based on cutoff grade of 0.6% copper equivalent.

Partners FNX Mining and Dynatec recently approved an $8 million reconditioning program for the Levack no. 2 shaft and head frame in anticipation of a positive production decision at the Levack mine in Sudbury, Ont. The shaft would be used to bring all ore from the lower McCreedy West and Levack mine complex to the surface. Both mines are part of the pair’s Sudbury joint venture, which is owned 75% by FNX and 25% by Dynatec. FNX ended 27 higher at $5.42; Dynatec added 3 to make $1.20.

Wheaton River Minerals grabbed a penny to reach $3.44. On Wednesday, spurned suitor Coeur d’Alene Mines said it would scrap its existing bid for Wheaton, instead opting to offer it anew to both Canadian and American shareholders next week. A Canadian offer has been long stalled on hang-ups related to Canadian regulations and translation into French.

Golden Star Resources shot up 43, or 8.3%, to $5.60. The company recently dropped its bid for Iamgold in the face of a competing, US$2.1-billion deal to merge with South Africa’s Gold Fields. For its part, Iamgold dropped a penny to $8.82.

Weda Bay Minerals put in one of the better percentage gains on the day, rising a nickel, or 14.3%, to 40. The company ended the second-quarter with a loss of $731,473, compared with a year-ago profit of $44,597. The loss for the first half of 2004 comes to $1.3 million, compared with year-ago earnings of $545,780.

On the minus side was River Gold Mines, which slipped 23, or 10.2%, to $2.02. The company recently reported a second-quarter net loss of $268,648, compared with year-ago net earnings of $1.9 million; during the first half of 2004, the company lost about $1.5 million, compared with net earnings of $705,893 a year earlier.