Gold index loses lustre

The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 9.1 points during the May 8-14 report period, closing at 7,707.8 points.

Gold yo-yoed itself to a US$308.40-per-oz. London afternoon fix on May 14, a net decrease of US$2.10 per oz. over the period. The gold index tracked straighter but, on May 14, suffered a 5.7% loss. Overall, the golds dropped 0.68 of a point to finish the week at 195.68 points.

Kinross Gold retained its position as the busiest major gold producer, shedding 6 to end at $3.04 on a trading volume of more than 24.3 million shares. Kinross recently posted a first-quarter loss US$7.9 million on lower gold production and higher cash costs.

Barrick Gold and Placer Dome both saw less than half as many shares change hands. Barrick gained a quarter to $32.57. Placer went the other way, dropping twice as much to $19.10. On May 8, Barrick declared a dividend of US11 per share, payable on June 14, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 31.

Trailing Kinross, but only in volume, were Bema Gold and TVX Gold. Bema soared 22 or 14% to $1.79 on 20.7 million shares, whereas TVX found 6 to reach $1.55. On May 9, Bema said it would raise $15 million via a bought deal led by Canaccord Capital. The company will use the proceeds for potential acquisitions and additional drilling at its 79%-owned Julietta mine in Russia. The underwriters can buy up to an additional 6.7 million units, boosting proceeds by $10 million.

Goldcorp dropped $1.49 to $28.26 on more than 3.7 million shares. The company announced that its shares will begin trading on a split basis on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 17. The split becomes effective on the New York Stock Exchange on May 29.

Wheaton River Minerals finished the period with a bang, climbing as high as $1.27 on May 14, before plummeting to a $1.16 close, off two pennies from the previous week. The company has arranged a $94.3-million private placement, a portion of which will be used to acquire Mexico’s Minas Luismin.

Aurado Exploration vaulted 9, or nearly 70%, to 22 upon announcing that it had inked a letter of intent to acquire a stake in several oil fields in Kazakstan’s Mangistau region. The company is also in discussions with a privately owned petroleum exploration company with licences in the country’s western region.

No less impressive was North American Palladium, which gained 57, or 6%, to finish at $9.22. Much of the gain came on May 14, after the company posted first-quarter earnings of $6.2 million (or 12 per share) — nearly five times its year-ago earnings. The improvement reflects the fact that the new concentrator at the Lac des les mine in Ontario is nearing capacity.

Inco was the most actively traded of the base metals, grabbing $1.23 to make $33.20 with just short of 3 million shares traded. In the U.S., Inco wrapped up an underwritten public offering worth US$400 million.

Next in line was Noranda, which tacked on a dime to hit $19.55. Meanwhile, mid-tier producer Sherritt International climbed 18 to $$4.85 on more than 1.9 million shares.