A generally poor report period for U.S. equity markets didn’t extend to the mining stocks, which were mostly higher over the five trading days March 17-23 as the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index both fell slightly more than 1%.
Gold bullion prices played a large part as most of the U.S.-listed golds rose. The sector’s bellwether, Newmont Mining, was up US$2.83 to US$59.55 on a volume of 27.5 million shares — about US$1.2 billion in stock moving. The big South Africans were up as well, with AngloGold US$1.41 higher at US$41.42, Gold Fields US86 higher at US$12.61, and Harmony Gold US$1.11 higher at US$15.55. Among mid-tier producers, Compania de Minas Buenaventura was up US$1.01 at US$26.55, Lihir Gold jumped US$1.39 to US$17.19, and Randgold Resources vaulted US$1.84 to US$19.84.
With silver tacking on US39 in the same period, for a London fix of US$7.54 on March 23, it was a paradox that Coeur d’Alene Mines fell back US7 to US$6.73. Development-stage silver company Apex Silver fared better, popping up US68 to US$22.08.
Base metal prices, other than nickel, were mostly lower, but some of the base metal producers still had a little steam. Anglo American was up US35 at US$23.85, BHP Billiton tacked on US11 to close at US$18.31, and WMC Resources rose US15 to US$14.61.
Going the other way were two copper-sensitives: Phelps Dodge fell US$2.32 to US$78.58, while Rio Tinto was down US$1.05 at US$98.85. Southern Peru Copper was unchanged at US$37.35.
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