Barrick re-shuffles management deck

The gold companies took centre-stage during the report period ended Sept. 23, as the yellow metal resumed its bull run by lunging forward $12.35, or 3.3%, to US$385.25 per oz., pulling the S&P-TSX Gold index up 6.95 points, or 3.4%, to 205.68.

Canada’s biggest gold producer, Barrick Gold, climbed 42 to $27.42 as it announced a shuffling of the upper levels of management. Of note, Peter Kinver becomes chief operating officer, effective January 2004, replacing John Carrington, who becomes vice-chairman. Kinver was divisional director of Anglo American Platinum’s western division in South Africa. Also, Greg Lang, currently Barrick’s vice-president of Australian operations, becomes VP North America, while Steve Orr, currently VP responsible for several North American operations, was named VP Australia and Africa.

Mid-tier producer Goldcorp jumped $1.28 to $19.84 as exploration at the flagship Red Lake mine in northwestern Ontario yielded some ultra-high-grade intercepts, including the deepest multiple-ounce occurrence of the key High Grade zone ever encountered: 2.11 oz. gold per ton over 48 ft. at a vertical depth of 7,165 ft. (72.4 grams per tonne over 14.6 metres at a vertical depth of 2,184 metres). This intersection indicates that the High Grade zone now extends below the planned bottom of the new shaft (7,150 ft., or 2,180 metres). Another hole, drilled higher up, cut an astounding 39.98 oz. gold (1,370.7 grams) over a near-true 34.1 ft. (10.39 metres).

As for the rest of the mid-tier crowd, Meridian Gold advanced 43 to $18.09, Agnico-Eagle Mines went against the trend, dropping $1.30 to $17.80, Iamgold added 32 to finish at $8.40, and Glamis Gold rose $1.43 to $19.02.

Crystallex International made a bid for greater respectability with the appointment of former Iamgold president Todd Bruce to the positions of president, CEO and director, with the unpopular former president, Marc Oppenheimer, stepping away from day-to-day operations as a result of his appointment to vice-chairman. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government has ordered Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana to deliver to the Ministry of Energy and Mines originals of all files related to mining contracts granted by CVG up to July 1996.

The completion of a prefeasibility study at the Kemess North gold-copper deposit propelled Northgate Exploration 12 higher to $2.29. The deposit, situated beside the Kemess gold-copper mine in north-central British Columbia, contains a minable resource of 4 million oz., enough for a mine life of 11 years. The resource is contained in 369 million tonnes running 0.34 gram gold and 0.18% copper. The plan at Kemess North calls for development of an open-pit operation in 2005, with prestripping to begin a year later.

The best performer among the base metals was nickel, which popped up 17 to US$4.68 per lb., sending Inco $1.55 higher to $38.35, Falconbridge, 80 higher to $22.60, and LionOre International, 38 higher to $7.13.