Miners advance without gold

The Dow Jones industrial average gave up the ground it recently gained, losing 393.70 points, or 3.5%, to close the reporting period April 26-May 2 at 10,731.12.

Gold issues sparkled despite a drop in the price of the yellow metal. The spot price on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped to US$275.40 per oz. Newmont Mining jumped $3.19 to US$26.38; New York Stock Exchange-listed Homestake Mining picked up 88 to close at US$6.69; and Battle Mountain Gold added 38 to close at US$2.44.

South Africans fared well, too, with Nasdaq-listed Harmony Gold Mining climbing $1.91 to US$6.69; Gold Fields gaining $1.69 to reach US$4.94; and AngloGold jumping a buck to US$21.56. Peru’s Buenaventura failed to rally, losing 56 to close at US$17.56.

Stronger copper prices gave a lift to producers, with Phelps Dodge leading the way with a $3.63 jump to close at US$48.75. Rio Tinto picked up $2.56 to close at US$69.06; Class B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold rose 63 to US$10.69; Broken Hill Proprietary gained $1.12 to finish at US$23; and Southern Peru Copper added 44 to close at US$12.94.

In other commodities: Apex Silver Mines bounced up $2.32 to close at US$11.94; Coeur d’Alene Mines advanced 31 to US$3; and diamond-miner De Beers Consolidated Mines picked up 50 to close at US$20.94. Platinum-miner Stillwater Mining slumped 31 to US$27, while Nasdaq junior Chief Consolidated Mining rose 94 to close at US$3.56.