TSX rises during the Feb. 21-25 trading week

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 198.18 points or 0.93% to 21,106 during the Feb. 21-25 trading week. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index increased 1.61 points or 1.38% to 116.53 and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index climbed 6.63 points or 3.18% to 207.99. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index rose 1.72 points or 0.54% to 317.53 and spot gold fell US$9.65 per oz. or 0.51% to US$1,884.80 per ounce.  

Shares of Trilogy Metals fell 35.8% or 69¢ to $1.24. The company, which owns a 50% stake in Ambler Metals, said the U.S. Department of Interior had suspended the right-of-way permits issued to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) to build a 340 km road, known as the Ambler Access Project (AAP), because it would cross the traditional homelands of many native communities.  Ambler Metals entered into an agreement with the AIDEA to pay US$35 million for the development of the AAP. Ambler Metals wholly owns the Upper Kobuk minerals project, located in the Ambler mining district of northwestern Alaska.  Construction of the road was approved in July 2020 under the administration of the country’s previous president, Donald Trump. A spokesperson for the interior department told The Northern Miner that it wanted to review “significant deficiencies” it identified in the approval process.

New Gold’s shares fell 13.1% to $2.18. The company reported full year production results for 2021 of 286,921 oz. gold, 867,961 oz. silver and 61.7 million lb. copper (418,933 gold-equivalent oz.) at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,463 per gold-equivalent ounce. New Gold generated $324 million cash from operations in 2021. Net earnings were $141 million for the year, while adjusted net earnings came in at $83 million. The company anticipates it will start production at the Intrepid zone at its Rainy River project in northwestern Ontario, in the second half of this year.  

Kinross Gold’s shares fell 39¢ to $7.03. The company’s shares took a hit after Russia invaded Ukraine. The company been operating in Russia for about 25 years, and currently operates the Kupol underground mine and mill in Russia’s Far Eastern region of Chukotka, about 7,000 km from Ukraine. The mine produced 481,108 gold-equivalent oz. last year. In 2013, the company expanded the mill from 3,500 to 4,500 tonnes per day to process additional ore from the Dvoinoye mine, about 100 km to the north, where mining activities ceased in 2020. Stockpiles from Dvoinoye are expected to be processed until about 2024. In January 2020 Kinross acquired the Chulbatkan license, also in Russia’s Far East. Drilling there has focused on the Udinsk resource pit, which is the first project it expects to develop on the licence, and first production is forecast to start in 2025. The gold major said on Feb. 22 that its operations in Russia were operating to plan and remained unaffected by international sanctions. In other news, Kinross completed its previously announced acquisition of Great Bear Resources.