U.S. markets, Dec. 9-13

U.S. markets took a hit during the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 264.84 points, or 1.6% to 15,755.36. The broader S&P 500 Index tumbled nearly 30 points to 1,775.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 61.54 points to 4,000.98. The spot gold price advanced US$8 per oz. to US$1,238.70. 

Pacific Booker Minerals was the top value and percentage gainer, soaring 63%, or US$2.47, to US$6.37 per share. The boost came after the B.C. Supreme Court quashed the provincial government’s decision to reject the company’s proposed Morrison copper–gold mine last October. The Vancouver-based firm reported that a 55-page court judgment released on Dec. 9 said that the decision by the previous ministers to withhold an environmental-assessment certificate wasn’t procedurally fair. The firm has invested nearly 10 years and $10 million to complete the environmental-assessment process.

Franco-Nevada climbed US$2.35 to US$39.74 after reporting a US$135-million streaming deal with Teranga Gold. The cash component allows Teranga to pay down half of its US$60-million bank loan and buy the remaining 56.5% interest in the Oromin joint-venture group, which holds gold deposits in Senegal. In return, Teranga will give Franco-Nevada 22,500 gold oz. a year from 2014 to 2019, followed by 6% of production in 2020 and beyond. Franco-Nevada will pay 20% of the spot gold price for each ounce delivered. The deal has a 40-year term and should close on Jan. 17, 2014.

“The transaction is NPV accretive for FNV. The Teranga gold stream could represent up to 8% of FNV’s annual revenues, and further supports the long-term target to earn over 80% of its revenue from precious metals,” BMO analyst David Haughton notes.

Barrick Gold was one of the most traded stocks, with 85.8 million shares changing hands. It closed up US$1.34 per share to US$16.74, despite reports that Barrick would dismiss 1,500 of its 5,000 workers on the Argentine side of its halted Pascua-Lama gold–silver project.

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