MINING MARKETS AND INVESTMENT NEWS – Eastern Markets — Palladium and platinum soar as Russia halts exports

The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index hit yet another record high during the report period of April 8-14, closing at 7,780.53 points on April 14, up 200 points, or 2.6%, over the holiday-shortened week.

Among the precious metals, palladium and platinum took the spotlight, with palladium rising a stunning US$46 to US$318 per oz. and platinum rising US$16 to US$429 per oz. over the week. Palladium traded as high as US$346 during the wee hours of April 15, and made history by surpassing gold for the first time ever on April 14.

Strongly echoing the situation a year ago, palladium and platinum markets are in a state of near-panic, with no indications as to when Russia will resume exporting its platinum-group-metal production. While most of Canada’s platinum and palladium is produced as a byproduct at the Sudbury nickel mines of Inco and Falconbridge, there are a handful of Canadian juniors that have made gains from Russia’s political and economic woes.

Platexco, one of the few pure platinum juniors traded in Canada, has seen its shares soar from less than $4.25 in early March to more than $6.75 on April 15. The company has delineated a platinum-palladium resource at its Winnaarshoek property in South Africa and is now negotiating with potential partners and buyers for the property.

North of Thunder Bay, Ont. lies North American Palladium’s Lac des les mine, Canada’s only primary producer of palladium (plus byproduct credits of platinum, nickel and copper). NA Palladium’s shares have rebounded of late, and traded at $2.90 on April 15, up $1 from early March.

Not far from Lac des les, another Toronto-based junior, Avalon Ventures, has carried out an initial 1,000-metre drilling campaign on its Wolf Mountain platinum-palladium prospect, with results expected to be released shortly. Avalon’s shares, which currently trade around $1.70, have recently been driven by news about its lithium discovery north of Kenora.

Among the base metals, the week was highlighted by gains in the spot price of copper, which climbed 6cents to US86cents per lb., and nickel, which rose 5cents to US$2.48 per lb. The gains pulled up many of the major base metal producers:

Rio Algom jumped $1.75 to $28; Noranda was up 30cents to $27.15; Inco rose $1.15 to $27.25; and Falconbridge rose $1.25 to close at $21.45.

SouthernEra Resources took a severe beating on April 15, dropping $3.90 to $9. The previous day, the company announced that South African major De Beers Consolidated Mines had signed a prospecting contract with another South African company that has claimed mineral rights to a disputed portion of the high-grade M1 kimberlite pipe on the Klipspringer diamond property owned by SouthernEra and joint-venture partner Randgold and Exploration.