Trading Summary (August 16, 2001)

After opening about 40 points lower, the Toronto Stock Exchange climbed steadily throughout the day to end at 7,569.5 points, up 36.78 on Wednesday’s finish. The base metal issues put in the best percentage gain of the TSE’s fourteen subindexes, gaining 86.4 points or 2.2%. The gold stocks edged up 30.41 points.

Barrick Gold and diversified miner Teck’s B series were the lone mining stocks to hit the TSE’s top ten traded list. Barrick rose 45 to $25.50 on nearly 1.9 million shares and Teck added 80 or 7% to hit $12.35.

Other gold miners on the rise were Placer Dome, up 20 to $17.38. On Thursday, Placer told an analysts meeting that it would boost its 2002 gold production targets at its Cortez mine in Nevada by 16 % thanks to improved grades. The company now expects the mine to churn out 1 million ounces of gold in 2002.

Royalty company Franco-Nevada Mining gained a penny to $20.30 after posting strong quarterly earnings of $25 million (16 per share), compared with year-ago earnings of $21.9 million (14 per share). Revenues increased 6% to $40.2 million from $38 million the previous year. The improved numbers are thanks, in part, to the company’s new 20% stake in Australia’s Normandy Mining.

Also heading north were Homestake Canada, 35 higher at $13.25, Hope Bay Gold, up 2 to 33 and Viceroy Resources, which tacked on a penny to hit 15. Going the other way was TVX Gold, which shed 8 or 11.6% to 61. On Wednesday, TVX posted a second-quarter net loss of US$2.5 million, compared with net earnings of US$800,000a year earlier. The latest loss includes a $2-million, non-cash, mark-to-market loss on the company’s gold and silver commodity contracts.

Falconbridge was the busiest base metal miner with more than 1.1 million shares traded. The issue climbed 32 to $16.02. Other gainers were Inco, up 46 to $24.91, Noranda, up 39 to $15.79 and Alcan, $1.10 higher at $54.20.

Canada’s junior exchange managed to end the day modestly higher on weak volume. The Canadian Venture Exchange gained 4.07 points, or 0.1% to finish the day at 3,094.63. The Mining Index faired even better climbing 29.74 points, or 0.4% to close at 7,519.14.

Cash-strapped Conquistador Mines took top spot on the most actively traded chart, losing 1 to end the day at 1 on nearly 1.9 million shares. The junior has been unable to get funding for its Colombian project and as a result a liquidator has been appointed.

Another junior explorer needing cash, Klondike Gold ended the day flat at 9 on 198,000 shares. The company holds a number of properties in southeastern BC, including the Silvana base metal project in Sandon, which has been put on care and maintenance due to low metal prices.

American Bonanza Gold Mining lost 1 to close at 4 on 920,000 shares. The junior has been attempting to advance the low-grade Copperstone gold project in Arizona.

Hunter-Dickinson led Great Basin Gold dropped 6 to 65 on 93,000 shares. The junior recently completed a 6,900 ft. hole under the Hollister deposit on the Ivanhoe property in Nevada. Although it cut 74 ft. of mineralization the grades proved to be uneconomic.

North American Tungsten continued to attract traders ending the day unchanged at 60 on 141,000 shares. The company signed a road maintenance agreement with the Yukon government supporting the reopening of the CanTung tungsten mine.

Investors appear to be jockeying for position ahead of new drill results from the Tambor gold project in Guatemala as shares in Radius Exploration lost a penny to 97 on a volume of 65,000.