Market News

TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE

The Toronto Stock Exchange went downhill during the trading week as uncertainty in Europe increased and worries over China’s slowed growth heightened, offsetting strong job-creation data from Canada.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index tumbled, losing 176.56 points to end the week at 1,694.67.In New York, the spot price of gold closed down US$61.70 per oz. to US$1,580.40, which hurt gold miners. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index slipped 13 points to finish the period at 286.43.

The base-metal miners didn’t fare well either following a 58.7-point drop in the S&P/TSX Capped Diversified Metals & Mining Index, which closed at 902.69 points.

Osisko Mining was the most actively traded stock with 24.3 million shares changing hands, pushing the junior down 2.3% to $7.40 apiece.During the week, the Montreal-based company reported weak first-quarter results and a fire at its Malartic mill.Osisko earned 8¢ per share — below the consensus of 12¢ per share — and produced 91,178 oz. gold. The company missed its output target for the quarter largely because of operational difficulties related to installing a secondary cone crusher. This led to a week of closure and five days of minimal production as adjustments were made to the crushers. The mill could be offline for another two to three weeks as Osisko assesses the damages caused by a recent fire. Osisko also anticipates trimming its 2012 production guidance. 

Kinross Gold saw heavy trading as it released its first-quarter financials. Profit fell to US$105.7 million, down from US$250.1 million a year ago as production slipped.Excluding one-time items, Kinross earned US18¢ a share, up from US15¢ a share in the comparable period last year. The company produced 604,247 equivalent oz. gold — down from 642,857 oz. a year ago — while production cost of sale rose to US$742 per equivalent oz. gold, which is up from US$545.Kinross reiterated its 2012 output target of 2.6 million to 2.8 million attributable, equivalent oz. gold, and production costs of US$670 to US$715 per equivalent oz. gold.Kinross’s shares stayed relatively flat to close at $7.91 apiece on 24.2 million shares traded.

Petaquilla Minerals moved up 9.3% to 35¢ after it filed a revised technical report for its Molejon project in Panama, addressing deficiencies that were identified by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC). During the week, the junior also brought on Andrew Ramcharan as the company’s executive vice-president and added Don Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, reportedly a direct descendant of Christopher Columbus, to its advisory board. Petaquilla is looking to update its technical report on the Lomero-Poyatos polymetallic mine in Spain as requested by the BCSC.

TSX most active issues

VOLUME			WEEK
			HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Osisko Mng	OSK	24320	9.70	7.23	7.40	-2.28
Eldorado Gold	ELD	24233	13.15	11.30	11.49	-1.66
Kinross Gold	K	24230	8.37	7.15	7.91	-0.43
Yamana Gold	YRI	20166	14.24	13.07	13.57	-0.52
B2Gold	BTO	17148	3.42	2.90	3.19	-0.21
Avion Gold	AVR	15543	0.91	0.51	0.56	-0.35
Mercator Mnls	ML	13179	1.04	0.79	0.80	-0.22
Goldcorp	G	12817	36.73	33.71	34.90	-1.53
Barrick Gold	ABX	12793	38.37	35.80	37.09	-0.60
Cline Mng	CMK	12617	0.97	0.81	0.82	-0.06

TSX greatest percentage change

VOLUME			WEEK
			HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Stockport Expl	SPT	268	0.10	0.09	0.095	+18.7
EMC Metals	EMC	1743	0.085	0.065	0.085	+13.3
Redzone Res	REZ	52	0.28	0.205	0.28	+12.0
MagIndustries	MAA	109	0.14	0.115	0.14	+12.0
Petaquilla Mnl	PTQ	4834	0.36	0.30	0.35	+9.3
Western Lithiu	WLC	503	0.255	0.21	0.25	+8.7
Horizns G Bear	HGD	3909	14.50	12.63	13.72	+7.8
Diamond Fields	DFI	35	0.07	0.07	0.07	+7.6
Mandalay Res	MND	325	0.74	0.63	0.71	+7.5
Lucara Diam	LUC	2465	1.11	0.95	1.03	+7.2
Avion Gold	AVR	15543	0.91	0.51	0.56	-38.4
Jaguar Mng	JAG	4702	2.34	1.39	1.53	-35.4
First Uranium	FIU	1387	0.11	0.07	0.075	-31.8
Jayden Res	JDN	699	0.08	0.06	0.06	-29.4
TVI Pacific	TVI	231	0.035	0.025	0.025	-28.5
Black Iron	BKI	107	0.40	0.31	0.32	-25.5
Mirabela Nickl	MNB	2298	0.445	0.27	0.34	-23.6
Osisko Mng	OSK	24320	9.70	7.23	7.40	-23.5
Prophecy Coal	PCY	4181	0.34	0.25	0.265	-23.1
Thompson Creek	TCM	4467	5.28	4.12	4.26	-22.6

TSX greatest value change

VOLUME			WEEK
			CLOSE	CHANGE
Royal Gold	RGL	68879	63.29	+2.40
Horizns G Bear	HGD	3908581	13.72	+1.00
Endeavr Silver	EDR	963240	8.61	+0.20
Rio Alto Mng	RIO	1859139	4.07	+0.14
Nautilus Minls	NUS	319521	2.33	+0.08
Lucara Diam	L UC	2465257	1.03	+0.07
Mandalay Res	MND	325136	0.71	+0.05
Endeavour Mng	EDV	2026468	2.09	+0.05
Elemental Mnls	ELM	141500	0.94	+0.04
Katanga Mng	KAT	849225	0.82	+0.04
Inmet Mining	IMN	2542701	47.16	-3.09
Detour Gold	DGC	2417813	21.55	-2.73
Central Gold-T	GTU_U	10660	59.00	-2.41
Osisko Mng	OSK	24320029	7.40	-2.28
Franco-Nevada	FNV	3311170	41.75	-2.09
Allied Nevada	ANV	1637937	26.37	-2.09
Centerra Gold	CG	2185971	10.09	-1.84
Imperial Metal	III	759528	13.25	-1.81
Teck Res B	TCKB	10240786	32.99	-1.80
Silver Wheaton	SLW	12010065	26.44	-1.77

TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE may 7-11

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index dropped 4.2% during the period, losing 58.72 points to end at 1,346.33 points after three days of losses outweighed two days of gains. Investor caution took hold with only 55 million and 58 million shares traded on the index on the last and second-last days of the period. Overall volume averaged 74.1 million shares traded per day, though, owing to higher volumes earlier in the week.

In a week of general losses there were no standout value gains, with Lumina Copper seeing the highest value climb with a 39¢ rise to $12.50. The small recovery came after the company officially increased the size of the already large Taca Taca project in Argentina, adding 62% to the indicated category and 19% to the inferred category. The sulphide resource now stands at 824 million indicated tonnes grading 0.59% copper, 0.12 gram gold per tonne and 0.018% molybdenum for 10.7 billion lbs. copper, 3.1 million oz. gold and 320 million lbs. moly, with inferred resources of 938 million tonnes grading 0.48% copper, 0.09 gram gold and 0.015% moly. The project also hosts a sizeable oxide resource.

Rare-earth explorer Hudson Resources saw a 16¢ jump on the last day of the period to end up 13¢, or 50%, at 39¢ for the second-highest value gain on the index. The company released no news during the period, but did release a resource estimate on its Sarfartoq rare earth project in Greenland in April. The resource established an indicated 5.9 million tonnes grading 1.8% total rare earth oxides (TREO), plus inferred resources of 2.5 million tonnes grading 1.6% TREO, based on a 1% cut-off grade. The company is focused on producing neodymium, which along with praseodymium, constitutes 25% of the contained rare earth oxides.

Ascot Resources also saw a 13¢ gain not long after releasing a resource estimate, ending at $1.11 after putting out the first resource on the Big Missouri project in northwest B.C. earlier in May. At a 0.2-gram gold cut-off, the target is estimated to contain 53.9 million tonnes grading 0.74 gram gold and 4.6 grams silver per tonne for 1.3 million oz. gold and 7.9 million oz. silver, plus 63.4 million inferred tonnes carrying 0.49 gram gold and 3.3 gram silver for 993,000 oz. gold and 6.6 million oz. silver.

Comstock Metals was one of the bigger percentage gainers, up 8¢, or 53% to 23¢ after four days of gains. The Yukon and Mexico explorer announced the discovery of a new zone of porphyry-style mineralization at its Corona project in Mexico’s Chihuahua state. Discovery hole 67 hit 35 metres grading 0.36 gram gold from 122 metres depth, and ended in mineralization. Five other drill holes on the periphery of the new zone also hit short mineralized intercepts.

TSX-V most active issues

VOLUME			WEEK
			HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Trelawney M&Ex	TRR	16974	3.29	3.27	3.28	-0.01
Aurcana Corp	AUN	8345	0.98	0.86	0.90	-0.07
New Guinea Gld	NGG	7599	0.015	0.005	0.01	-0.01
Concordia Res	CCN	6846	0.40	0.35	0.38	+0.01
East Asia Mnls	EAS	6473	0.445	0.32	0.34	-0.02
Sandstorm Gld	SSL	4674	8.95	1.60	8.45	+0.03
New Shoshoni V	NSV	4617	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.00
Zenyatta Vent	ZEN	3509	0.59	0.39	0.035	+0.02
Logan Copper	LC	3469	0.035	0.02	0.035	+0.02
Strike Graph	SRK	3065	0.335	0.26	0.295	-0.05

TSX-V greatest percentage change

VOLUME			WEEK
			HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Logan Copper	LC	3469	0.035	0.02	0.035	+75.0
Martina Mnls	MTN	133	0.055	0.05	0.05	+66.6
Constant Mtl R	CEM	1012	0.08	0.045	0.08	+60.0
Comstock Mtls	CSL	792	0.23	0.17	0.23	+53.3
Hudson Res	HUD	607	0.39	0.21	0.385	+50.9
Sheltered Oak	OAK	986	0.03	0.02	0.03	+50.0
Richmond Mnls	RMD	177	0.02	0.015	0.015	+50.0
Altan Nev Mnls	ANE	129	0.22	0.15	0.22	+46.6
Typhoon Expl	TYP	172	0.325	0.27	0.32	+45.4
Cabia Goldhlls	CGH	386	0.36	0.26	0.36	+44.0
AKA Vent	AKA	2033	0.085	0.04	0.04	-55.5
Gentor Res	GNT	23	0.40	0.23	0.23	-54.0
Quia Res	QIA	163	0.08	0.055	0.055	-50.0
Sea Green Cap	SGS	109	0.015	0.01	0.01	-50.0
Darwin Res	DAR	124	0.35	0.21	0.22	-45.0
NV Gold	NVX	158	0.115	0.085	0.085	-41.3
Abbastar Res	ABA	53	0.065	0.06	0.06	-40.0
Anconia Res	ARA	57	0.175	0.11	0.12	-40.0
Amanta Res	AMH	2317	0.02	0.01	0.015	-40.0
Klondike Gold	KG	251	0.135	0.09	0.09	-40.0

TSX-V greatest value change

VOLUME			WEEK
			CLOSE	CHANGE
Lumina Copper	LCC	635854	12.50	+0.39
Ascot Res	AOT	330788	1.11	+0.13
Hudson Res	HUD	607110	0.385	+0.13
Cabia Goldhlls	CGH	386226	0.36	+0.11
Geomark Expl	GME	85550	0.90	+0.10
Abitbi Royalt	RZZ	29763	0.90	+0.10
Typhoon Expl	TYP	172377	0.32	+0.10
Slater Mng	SLM	27500	0.40	+0.08
Comstock Mtls	CSL	792355	0.23	+0.08
Solvista Gold	SVV	285840	0.33	+0.08
Chesapeake Gld	CKG	214454	8069	-2.92
Atac Res	ATC	1322813	2.24	-0.63
Atacama Pac Gd	ATM	32500	3.40	-0.60
Prophecy Plat	NKL	321820	2.20	-0.50
Gold Canyon	GCU	1392785	1.38	-0.37
Gold Standard	GV	2558779	2.51	-0.36
Bear Creek Mng	BCM	926372	2.86	-0.36
Mirasol Res	MRZ	206032	2.45	-.035
Gold Reserve	GRZ	40912	4.20	-0.35
Maudore Minls	MAO	174076	3.42	-0.3

U.S. MARKETS may 7-11

More alarming economic data from China and the European Union, China’s biggest export market, along with political deadlock in Greece, combined to send U.S. equities down sharply. China’s industrial output in April expanded at its slowest annual pace in three years, while fixed asset investment in the first four months of the year grew by 20.2%, the slowest rate since 2002. The week also brought more news of excess on Wall Street, with a failed hedging strategy at JPMorgan that will cost it more than US$2 billion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 217.67 points, or 1.67%, to close at 12,820.60, while the S&P 500 Index lost 176.96 points, or 1.50%, to 11,694.27. The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index lost 5.51 points, or 3.52%, to finish at 151.25.

Royal Gold advanced US$2.13 to US$63.20 per share on no news. Earlier this month the company announced record royalty revenue of US$69.6 million, which is a 25% year-on-year increase. Net income rose 33% over the fiscal third quarter a year ago to a record US$26 million, with record operating cash flow of US$47.5 million — 16% higher than the previous year.

Adjusted headline earnings of US$429 million in the first quarter, more than double the same period a year earlier, and board approval for the development of three projects helped propel shares of AngloGold Ashanti up US24¢ to US$33.48 apiece. The company will invest US$1.9 billion over the next five years to expand the Cripple Creek and Victor mine in the U.S. and develop the Mongbwalu and Kibali projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. AngloGold plans to boost production to between 5.4 million and 5.6 million oz. by 2014 from new projects, and by expanding some existing operations.

Randgold Resources dropped US$4.50 per share to US$76.72 on no news, and despite posting good financial results on May 3. The company reported profit of US$104 million in the first quarter, up 126% over the same quarter a year ago, with production of 165,443 oz. gold in a 19% year-on-year increase. Both figures, however, were down by 28% and 13% respectively on the previous quarter’s record results.

U.S. most active issues

VOLUME			WEEK
			HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Alcoa*	AA	100471	9.41	8.99	9.06	-0.28
Arch Coal*	ACI	97465	8.48	7.29	8.06	-0.02
Kinross Gold*	KGC	80655	8.43	7.11	7.90	-0.49
Freeport McMo*	FCX	75272	36.62	34.71	34.74	-1.66
Alpha Nat Res*	ANR	71453	14.60	13.00	13.16	-1.29
Barrick Gold*	ABX	42880	38.31	35.61	37.04	-0.85
Newmont Mng*	NEM	36142	47.23	43.95	45.36	-0.80
Silver Wheatn*	SLW	34787	28.54	25.57	26.46	-1.86
Elray Res*	ELRA	31885	0.015	0.004	0.009	+0.00
Goldcorp*	GG	31443	36.93	35.55	34.90	-1.66

U.S. greatest percentage change

VOLUME			WEEK
			HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Elray Res*	ELRA	31885	0.015	0.004	0.009	+80.0
Goldfield*	GV	2812	1.74	1.08	1.60	+42.8
Li3 Energy*	LIEG	333	0.10	0.07	0.086	+14.6
Caledonia Mng*	CALVF	1150	0.09	0.065	0.08	+14.2
Petaquilla Mn*	PTQMF	2935	0.369	0.30	0.365	+9.9
Cornerstone C*	CTNXF	10	0.081	0.081	0.081	+8.0
Legend Intl H*	LGDI	73	0.12	0.11	0.119	+7.2
Kobex Mnls*	KXM	37	0.62	0.55	0.62	+6.9
Tri-Valley*	TIV	2246	0.09	0.065	0.085	+4.9
Natural Rs Pt*	NRP	250	25.02	22.69	24.17	+4.3
Silver Dragon*	SDRG	4817	0.03	0.015	0.018	-37.9
Avalon Rare M*	AVL	5545	2.28	1.58	1.77	-23.7
Thompson Crk*	TC	8750	5.32	4.12	4.25	-23.1
US Antimony*	UAMY	413	3.88	2.90	2.98	-22.6
Gold Am Mng*	SILA	199	0.038	0.03	0.03	-18.9
Northern Dyn*	NAK	1095	5.05	4.19	4.26	-16.3
Aurizon Mines*	AZK	3450	5.54	4.58	4.58	-15.5
Minco Gold*	MGH	236	0.602	0.50	0.52	-14.7
Exeter Res*	XRA	219	2.49	2.11	2.13	-14.8
Timberline Rs*	TLR	325	0.44	0.36	0.38	-13.6

U.S. greatest value change

VOLUME			WEEK
			CLOSE	CHANGE
Royal Gold*	RGLD	3996473	63.20	+2.13
Natural Rs Pt*	NRP	250480	24.17	+1.01
Consol Energy*	CNX	23207810	34.26	+1.00
MDU Res*	MDU	3512564	22.98	+0.52
Goldfield*	GV	2811703	1.60	+.048
Gold Fields*	GFI	20170608	12.99	+0.31
AngloGold Ash*	AU	9942443	33.48	+0.24
Hecla Mining*	HL	26638504	4.11	+0.15
SinoCoking Cl*	SCOK	123250	2.02	+0.06
Kobex Mnls*	KXM	36921	0.62	+0.04
Randgold Res*	GOLD	3231370	76.72	-4.50
Alliance Rs P*	ARLP	481894	58.38	-3.25
BHP Billi-BBL*	BBL	4501152	59.07	-2.94
BHP Billi-BHP*	BHP	15519608	68.82	-2.91
Walter Energy*	WLT	2733151	61.50	-2.88
Cliffs Nat Rs*	CLF	18107978	55.43	-2.84
Buenaventura*	BVN	5132963	37.94	-2.38
Franco-Nevada*	FNV	1149395	41.70	-2.32
Allied Nevada*	ANV	989157	26.29	-2.16
Mosaic*	MOS	20023994	48.93	-2.02