TSX on a roll, surpasses Dow Jones

With oil flirting with a record close of US$64 per barrel, Toronto stocks rose 191.42 points to 10,614.35 during the Aug. 2-8 report period. The advance left the S&P/TSX Composite Index north of the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the first time in almost five years. The golds chipped in a 9.73-point, or 5%, gain to 202.14, as the yellow metal tacked on US$4.55 per oz. to close at US$436.20 in London. The diversified miners added 3.46 points to hit 170.50.

Bema Gold left the rest of the miners in the dust, trading more than 17 million shares 21 higher to $2.88 ahead of the company’s second-quarter financial results, which were due out on Aug. 11.

Cambior placed a dubious second with 14.3 million shares winding 3 lower to $2.57. Investors bailed after the company tabled weaker second-quarter earnings of US$1 million on soaring costs, and less-than-impressive economics for the Camp Caiman gold project in French Guiana.

With a new US$500 million credit facility, Goldcorp is shopping around for additional gold assets. Investors did some shopping of their own, pushing around 10.5 million shares 49 higher to $20.38. Goldcorp also declared its eighth monthly dividend of US1.5 per share.

Eldorado Gold returned earlier gains to end at $3.34, off 3 from its previous close. Eldorado’s second-quarter loss widened significantly to US$11.1 million on lower gold sales and higher operating costs.

The country’s major gold producers reversed their recent course to post gains: Barrick Gold jumped $1.91 to $30.91; Placer Dome stumbled late, but advanced 88 to $17.88; and Kinross Gold made 55 to reach $7.31.

Workers at Placer Dome’s 50%-owned South Deep gold mine are walking picket lines as part of South Africa’s first industry-wide strike in 18 years; in all, some 110,000 workers are striking to press for higher wages.

Constellation Copper was the busiest base metal issue, rising 17, or 16%, to $1.22 on 7.8 million shares. The company’s Lisbon Valley copper mine, in Utah, is on schedule to produce its first copper cathodes in mid-November, with full production slated for February.

Falconbridge jumped $2.35 to $27.60 on around 7.6 million shares, after nearly doubling its second-quarter earnings to US$202 million on higher realized metal prices and refined nickel sales.

Copper miner Aur Resources more than doubling its second-quarter earnings to US$36.5 million, as revenues jumped by about 57% to US$109.6 million on a higher realized copper price and increased copper sales. The shares rose 44 to $7.80.

Not to be outdone, Chilean copper producer Amerigo Resources nearly tripled its second-quarter earnings to US$4.6 million. The company will share the good fortune with a 4.5-per-share interim dividend payment. Shares leapt 40, or 24%, to $2.08.

Recently listed African Copper soared $1.05, or 87.5%, to $2.25 after the company said that the estimated price tag for a 350-tonne-per-hour three-stage crushing circuit, agglomeration drum with conveyor stacking to the heap-leach pad at its Dukwe Botswana copper project is in line with previous a estimate of around US$30 million.