Trading Summary (December 11, 2003)

Trading SummaryThe Toronto Stock Exchange rebounded to the tune of 69.06 points to end Thursday’s trading session at 7,956.18. The gold, technology and health care sectors all chipped in plus-3% gains; the golds ended up 7.56 points at 225.47. The diversified miners managed to find the market’s only red ink, falling 0.27 of a point to 204.21.

Manhattan Minerals stuck out like a sore thumb after investors hammered the stock 48, or 55%, lower to 40 following news that government-run Centromin Peru has axed the junior’s option agreement on the embattled Tambo Grande copper-zinc project in Peru.

Wheaton River Minerals ended the session as the exchange’s most active issue, gaining 16 to $3.88 with more than 14.5 million shares traded. Kinross Gold was the busiest of the major producers, but advanced just 7 to $10.47. Placer Dome made 67 to hit $22.17 and Barrick Gold rose 84 to $28.67.

Sherritt International led the base metal miners with a quarter gain to $6.35 on just shy of 3 million shares. On Thursday, Sherritt said it was ditching its dual-class stock structure under which chairman Ian Delaney controlled the company by holding all 100 of its multiple voting shares. Delaney’s shares will be exchanged for restricted voting shares on a one-for-one basis; he will also receive 1.4 million new common shares in the form of participation units under Sherritt’s stock-linked executive compensation plan. Sherritt has about 131 million restricted voting shares outstanding. The restricted voting shares will be redesignated as common shares.

Canada’s junior exchange lost ground for a fourth consecutive day as investors elected to unload speculative gold issues. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index lost 4.82 points, or 0.29%, and closed at 1,639.13.

Amerigo Resources ended the session unchanged at $1.65 on 1.25 million shares traded. The junior copper producer is currently expanding production at its MVC operations near Santiago, Chile.

Spider Resources lost 1 to close at 11.5 on 1.1 million shares traded. The junior along with partner KWG Resources have been working the McFauld’s Lake massive sulphide project in the James Bay lowlands of Ontario.

American Bonanza Gold Mining dropped 1 and closed at 36.5 with just over 1 million shares traded. The company is in the midst of underground drilling at its Copperstone gold project in Arizona. Recent results include a 32 ft. interval averaging 23 grams gold, including a 12-ft. interval that averaged 43 grams gold. Exploration is also under way at the junior’s gold Bar property in Nevada’s Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral belt.

Mandorin Goldfields continued to slip lower, losing 1.5 to close at 11.5 on 695,000 shares traded. The company inked a memorandum of understanding with JEL Project & Construction Management, which holds resource concession rights and legal title to number of gold projects in China.