Golds bounce back, market looks slack

Despite some hundred-point days, the Toronto Stock Exchange moved sideways during the report period July 31-Aug. 6, with the TSX Composite index closing at 6,519.16, up a meagre 7.98 points over the four trading days.

Gold shares moved up as bullion prices recovered slightly during the same period. The TSX Gold index was 5.67 points higher at 163.87, a gain of 3.6% of value, as bullion picked up US$2.40 on London markets for a fixing price of US$307.80 on the morning of Aug. 7. It continued its rally — possibly fed by predictions of another rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank — into the day, and at presstime was trading near US$314.

The white goods didn’t enjoy the same buzz as gold, with silver down US2 at US$4.64 per oz. and platinum, at US$526 per oz., and palladium, at US$318 per oz., both down US$4 per oz.

On the exchange, the arbitrage crowd ensured that Kinross Gold was the volume leader again, bidding it up 14 to $2.79. Intended merger partners followed Kinross higher, with Echo Bay Mines up 2 at $1.38 and TVX Gold up 92 at $17.64.

Placer Dome, whose newest offer for Australian gold miner AurionGold was rebuffed, was one of the few golds that backtracked during the period, falling 13 to close at $13.35. The best move among the mid-tier producers was from Meridian Gold, which was up $2.90 at $25.70, but they were all higher, with Agnico-Eagle Mines $1.15 higher at $19.70, Glamis Gold advancing 85 to $12.95, and Goldcorp rising 25 to finish at $13.75.

Some small off-index gold producers put in strong performances too. Miramar Mining added 12 to close at $1.20, Richmont Mines was 31 better at $4.51, Rio Narcea Gold tacked on 14, running to $1.54, and River Gold closed at $2.70 for a gain of 32. Royalty company Repadre Capital picked up 64 and closed at $6.70.

Silver producer Pan American Silver was 46 higher at $9.86, despite the slumping silver price, but North American Palladium didn’t escape the metal market, sliding 60 to $8.10.

Spot base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker, and the TSX Mining and Metals index showed it, falling 9.95 points, or 8.1% of its value, to 112.61. Inco was the most heavily traded of the base metal producers, with 4.8 million shares moving; it fell $2.82 and finished at $25. Another loser on heavy volume was Teck Cominco, with B shares off $2.02 at $10.21, and 2.3 million changing hands.

Among the other big producers, Falconbridge was off $1.27 at $15.90, and parent Noranda fell $1.12 to $15.75, while Cameco slid $1.90 to $29. Two smaller producers bucked the trend; Sherritt International added 8 to close at $4.96, while Ivanhoe Mines was 4 better at $2.63 on news of more favourable drill results from the company’s Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia.

Etruscan Resources, which jumped 13 to 92, announced that its Mooi River alluvial diamond project, a joint venture with Venture-listed Mountain Lake Resources, had sold US$895,500 worth of diamonds in the second quarter.

Ashton Mining saw its shares drop 74 to $1.18 on weak results from the Artemisia kimberlite. Joint-venture partner Pure Gold Minerals was unchanged at 9, possibly thaks to the discovery of a new kimberlite on its Tichegami River property in the Otish Mountains district of Quebec, a project it has optioned from Venture-listed Ditem Explorations.