MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — U.S. MARKETS — Dow rides roller-coaster through period

The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its wild ride, jumping by as much as a 100 points during the report period, only to shed up to 200 points by its close on July 28. The average finished the period on the down side, off 255.45 points, or 2.8%, amid fresh Asian worries and poorer earnings in the second quarter.

Mining issues suffered substantial losses during the report period, led by the copper producers. Phelps Dodge, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, took a big hit, dropping $3.25 to close at US$56.12; Asarco dropped $1.62 to close at US$21.62; Australia’s Broken Hill Proprietary shed $1.12 to close at US$16.75; and Class B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold lost 62 cents to finish the period at US$15.50.

Many gold producers were also down as the price of the yellow metal flagged.

Newmont Mining shed $2.25 to finish the week at a new 12-month low of US$20.56. Its 94%-owned subsidiary, Newmont Gold, dropped US$1.81 to close at US$21.31.

Homestake Mining closed at US$10.44, down 50 cents. The company took the hit after posting a loss for the second quarter of US$30.9 million (15 cents per share). This compares with a loss of US$64.9 million (31 cents per share) for the same period last year.

Coal producer Kerr McGee posted a loss of $2.56 following the US$400-million acquisition by Rio Tinto of the Jacob Ranch coal mine in Wyoming. The issue closed at US$53.81, while Rio Tinto finished the week down $2.81 at US$46.06.