MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — EASTERN MARKETS — Stocks decline as spot gold settles to US$320 per oz.

After several weeks of excitement, gold started to settle down during the holiday-shortened Oct. 6-12 report period, with spot prices restricted to within the US$315-325-per-oz. range. Over the week, gold slipped US$4.50 to US$320.50 per oz.

On continued heavy volume, most of Canada’s gold majors fell for a second consecutive week: Barrick Gold was off $2.80 to $30.10; Placer Dome declined $2.35 to $21.40; Cambior slid $1.97 to hit $2.77; and TVX Gold was off 21 cents to close at $1.99. Only Franco-Nevada Mining held steady, remaining at $30.80.

Kinross Gold was down 48 cents to $4.07 as the major announced it had struck a deal to buy Royal Oak Mines’ Timmins assets, including the Pamour and Nighthawk mines, for US$5 million. Much of Kinross’s share decline came during a selloff following an announcement by Cyprus Amax Minerals that it was selling its 31% stake in Kinross for US$242 million.

With copper and zinc both off 3 cents to US77 cents and US51 cents, respectively, the base metal miners mostly showed declines: Noranda dropped $1.05 to $18.60; Rio Algom slipped 35 cents to $19.75; Teck’s B shares fell $1.05 to close at $14.40; Cominco was unchanged at $25; and Boliden rose 10 cents to $4.05.

Canada’s nickel miners were also off: Inco lost $2.55 to hit $29.25; Falconbridge was off $1.60 to $20.25; and Sherritt International shed 6 cents to reach $3.05.

Among the juniors, TVI Pacific was the most active, with 4.5 million shares changing hands. The company announced that its Rapu Rapu polymetallic project in the Philippines has passed the first stage of an ongoing feasibility study being managed by Australian-listed Lafayette Mining. Lafayette is earning a 63.75% interest in the project, which, once acquired, will leave TVI with 25%. TVI ended the period unchanged at 7 cents.

Pangea Goldfields fell 2 cents to $3.85, keeping its 2-month gain in the $2-range. Drills are turning on two of the company’s gold properties in Tanzania, with the most recent results coming from Tulawaka, where 9 metres (true width) averaged 22.6 grams gold per tonne.

Diamond miner Namibian Minerals rose 10 cents to $7.25 as investors digested its formal takeover bid for Johannesburg-listed Ocean Diamond Mining Holdings. The company hopes to complete the takeover by month’s-end. If successful, the deal would quadruple Namibian Minerals’ marine concessions in southern Africa while boosting its annual output by about 30%.

Going the opposite way was SouthernEra Resources, which fell 33 cents to $2.35 on news that president and founder Christopher Jennings intends to take a non-executive role at year-end. A replacement has not yet been named.