Gold, nickel prices take a tumble

Erasing gains from the previous week, gold slipped a nickel over the Feb. 6-12 report period to land at a London morning fix of US$297.40 per oz. on Feb. 13.

Going along for the ride were: Barrick Gold, down 80 to $29.05; Placer Dome, down $1.34 to $20.33; Franco-Nevada Mining, down $1.39 to $30.46; and Kinross Gold, down 20 to $1.67. The speculation is that Barrick will soon announce a reserve update for its Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania.

TVX Gold tacked on a dime to end the week at $1.06 on a volume of 29.1 million shares, making it the most active mining issue on the bourse. The miner shortly expects to be given the go-ahead to implement a new mining plan at its Stratoni base metal operation in Greece. The plan has been approved by a government-appointed team from the National Technical University of Athens.

Among the mid-tier producers, Iamgold rose 11 to $5.15 as Agnico-Eagle Mining climbed 3 to $19.63. Going the opposite way were Goldcorp, down 49 to $25.66, and Meridian Gold, down 20 to $22.78. Goldcorp announced strong earnings in 2001 but said it was cutting back on production in favour of exploration.

Except for nickel, base metal prices remained unchanged from the previous period. Nickel slipped 11 over the five trading days to be fixed in London at US$2.75 per lb. on the morning of Feb. 13. Nevertheless, Inco jumped 91 to $28.86 and Falconbridge climbed 20 to $16.40.

Despite reporting a huge loss in 2001, Noranda ascended 27 to end the period at $15.81. The base metal giant lost more than $92 million last year as revenue slipped nearly 12%. Production was nevertheless higher and is expected to continue climbing over the remainder of the current year. Also, the Magnola magnesium plant should be running at more than 90% of its capacity by year-end.

In stark contrast, Inmet Mining announced earnings of $19 million last year, or more than twice as much as in 2000. Higher revenue and accounting adjustments contributed to the increase. Inmet finished the period at $4.67, down 13.

Junior Mountain Province Diamonds announced that partner De Beers has begun a bulk-sampling program at the Kennedy Lake diamond property in the Northwest Territories. The program is focusing on the Hearne and 5034 kimberlite pipes. Mountain Province closed at 85, unchanged from the previous period.

Northgate Exploration and partners Doublestar Resources and privately owned Procon Mining & Tunneling plan to spend $300,000 on a feasibility study at the Sustut copper deposit in north-central British Columbia.