Trading Summary (July 11, 2002)

The technology stocks stormed back on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday gaining 0.92 of a point or nearly 6% to hit 16.56 points. Unfortunately the gold index was just one of two to make gains, and the S&P/TSX Composite Index finished the day off at 6,863.33, 53.08 points lower than Wednesday’s close. The golds slipped 6.44 points or 3.25% and the base metal miners shed 0.45 of a point to end at 136.94..

Northern Orion Explorations shot to the front of the pack on the TSX with more than 70 million shares changing hands. In late June, Robert Cross was elected chairman of Northern Orion. Cross recently exercised an option to acquire about 60 million shares of Northern Orion plus some convertible notes of $6.9 million for $4.8 million from Miramar Mining. The deal called for Miramar to retain about 10 million shares in Northern Orion. For their part, Miramar shares lost 4 to $1.38.

Three of the recent S&P500 Index rejects were also among the TSX’s most traded issues. Placer Dome dropped another 48 to $16.60 with 5.45 million shares traded. Barrick Gold fell 50 to $28.65 on a volume of 4.5 million shares. Aluminum giant Alcan slid $1.48 to $50.57 on a volume of nearly 3.1 million shares to round out the TSX’s top ten traded list.

Also seeing action was Bema Gold. On Thursday, Bema announced plans for a brokered flow-through private placement aimed at raising $3 million. Bema also said it plans to seek a listing on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market, and expects shares to begin trading there in the fourth quarter of 2002.

Inco, which will also be dropped from the S&P500 Index effective July 19, finished 28 higher at $31.40 with about 1.7 million shares moving. Most of the other base metal issues put in modest losses. Teck Cominco’s B class shares managed a nickel gain to $13.20 ands Aur Resources advanced a dime to $4.57.

The S&P TSX Venture Exchange composite index finished the day down 16.26 points or 1.42%, and closed at 1,131.49 with a volume of 28.5 million shares.

Donner Minerals lost 4 and closed at 39 with 617,465 shares traded. The Harvey Keats-led company is gearing up for a 3,500-metre, 12-20 shallow hole, drill program on the South Voisey Bay project in Labrador. Initial drilling will focus on electromagnetic anomalies outlined by the 2001 UTEM survey.

American Bonanza Gold Mining found a penny and closed at 20 on 604,600 shares traded. The junior miner lost 2 and closed at 19. The company has $2 million set aside for advancing the Copperstone project in Arizona, which hosts an estimated total resource of 2.1 million tons grading 0.58 oz. gold per ton.

Spider Resources closed at 6, up 1 on 476,500 shares. Spider and partner KWG Ressources hold the Wawa and Spider #1 diamond properties in Northern Ontario. They are also involved in a multi-year joint venture with De Beers Canada Exploration on the Spider #3 area, also in northern Ontario.