TSX up, May 24-28

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 1.66% to 19,852.18 during the holiday-shortened May 24-28 trading week. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index grew 1.58% to 114.11, and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index surged 4.04% to 175.51. Spot gold increased by US$22.80 per oz., or 1.21%, to US$1,903.50 per oz., and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index fell 0.25% to 332.35.

Ivanhoe Mines was the second most actively traded stock, rising 27¢ to $8.88 per share. The company announced that copper concentrate production started on May 25 at the Phase 1, 3.8 million tonne-per-year Kamoa-Kakula mine — several months ahead of schedule. Ivanhoe and partner Zijin Mining said first ore was introduced into the concentrator plant on May 20 to perform initial hot commissioning tests on the ball mills and other processing equipment. “Discovering and delivering a copper province of this scale, grade and outstanding ESG credentials, ahead of schedule and on budget, is a unicorn in the copper mining business,” Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe’s co-chairman, said in a press release. “Although this exploration journey started well over two decades ago, it also is noteworthy that the Kakula deposit itself was discovered a little over five years ago, which is remarkable progress by the mining industry’s glacial standards from first drill hole to a new major mining operation.” The start of production puts the company “on the path to establish Kamoa-Kakula as the second largest, and perhaps eventually the largest, copper mining complex in the world,” he noted.

Lithium Americas climbed $2.39 to $18.49 per share. The company and joint venture partner Ganfeng Lithium have approved a second-stage expansion at the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Argentina’s Jujuy province. In phase 1, the project has an annual production capacity of 40,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent over a mine life of 40 years, and the stage two expansion will add a further 20,000 tonnes of LCE per year, starting in 2025. Construction of the first phase is underway and production is expected in mid-2022. 

Wesdome Gold Mines fell 51¢ to $11.14 per share. The company announced results of a prefeasibility study of its Kiena complex in Quebec, and has made a decision to restart the operation with initial production as early as the third quarter of this year. (Kiena produced 12.5 million tonnes at 4.5 grams gold per tonne for 1.75 million oz. gold between 1981 and 2013, and has been on care and maintenance since then.) The PFS outlined a mine life of seven years based on indicated resources as of October 2020, with average annual production of 84,000 oz. of gold (with peak production over 115,000 ounces in 2025), at all-in sustaining costs of US$676 per ounce. Production activities will use existing mine infrastructure such as a 930-metre shaft and existing 2,000 tonne-per-day mill.