Golds, base metals spur TSE indices

The Toronto Stock Exchange edged 3.81 points higher to end the Nov. 3-9 report period at 8,845.16. The gold index rose 4.4% to 221.20 points, as the yellow metal entrenched itself above the US$430-per-oz. level, closing at US$432.65 per oz. in New York on Nov. 9. The metals and mining index was dragged along, advancing 3.5% to 245.07, with the base metals ending mixed.

Kinross Gold climbed steadily to finish $1.11 higher at $9.84. The shares rose on reports that CEO Bob Buchan expects year-end reserves to climb by 13.5% to 16 million oz. Kinross also got a late-period boost after agreeing to buy the 51% interest it doesn’t already own in the Rio Paracatu Minerazao open-pit gold mine in Brazil from Rio Tinto for US$260 million. Paracatu is expected to produce around 195,000 oz. of gold at US$228 per oz. in 2004.

Placer Dome survived a final-day dive to finish 73 better at $26.42. On Nov. 9, Placer said it executed an underwritten equity offering of 18.5 million shares at US$22 apiece. The issue price represents a 5.5% discount on the share’s closing price in New York on Nov. 8, when the sale was announced; it also means the issue will fall short of the originally planned US$500 million. Meanwhile, bigger rival Barrick Gold grabbed $1.50 to make $27.90, after it unveiled plans to issue US$750 million worth of debt securities in the U.S.

There was heavy traffic in shares of TVI Pacific; the issue headed south to the tune of 5.5, or 37%, to 9.5. Investors were ill impressed with the low grades encountered in the first 9-hole exploration drilling program on the company’s Shuikoushan gold project in China.

Asia Pacific Resources was unable to hang on to early gains, and finished 1.5 cheaper at 13.5. The Thai government recently assured the company of priority over the majority of the land held under its special prospecting licences for the Udon North potash deposit. Asia Pac’s right to extend or renew the licences was questioned late last year.

Good news boosted shares in Metallica Resources by 23 to $1.73. Mexico’s Federal Court recently restored the company’s surface rights to the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver project. The Agrarian Court of San Luis Potosi state must now decide whether to permanently reinstate Metallica’s lease or nullify it outright.

There was no such good news for Cambior, which shed 22 to $3.42. The company recently axed plans to acquire a 55.3% stake in the Poderosa mine in northern Peru, after the vendors said they could not extend the proposed deal’s closing date owing to a lawsuit over a group of claims that comprise a significant portion of the mine’s reserves.

Golden Star Resources plummeted $1.03, or 17%, to $5.11, after it reported a third-quarter net loss of US$4.3 million on revenue of US$13.4 million. The loss comes on lower production and higher costs associated with the mining of harder transition ore at the Bogoso-Prestea mine in Ghana, and with heavy rainfall and longer-than-expected commissioning at the Wassa gold mine, 35 km to the east.

Shares in Stelco also shot higher on period-ending news. Reuters reports that Russian steel maker OAO Severstal offered to buy Stelco by refinancing Canada’s biggest steel maker’s secured debt, paying cash to unsecured bond and trade creditors, and contribute around $400 million worth of capital. Stelco recently reported its second straight quarterly profit. The company has been in bankruptcy protection since January. The issue gained 24, or 20%, to reach $1.47.