MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — EASTERN MARKETS — Gold continues its mid-summer slumber

During the July 21-27 report, gold took a baby step back from oblivion, gaining $1.10 to hit US$254 per oz. on the London morning fix of July 28.

Each of Canada’s three biggest gold producers posted gains over the period: industry leader Barrick Gold was up $1.40 to $27 as it celebrated near-record second-quarter earnings of US$84 million; Placer Dome gained $1.30 to $15.30 as it halted production at the underperforming Turquoise Ridge gold mine in Nevada, only a week after shelving its Las Cristinas project in Venezuela; and Kinross Gold was up 13 cents to $2.63 as it announced production figures that show the company is on-track to cracking the 1-million-oz. barrier;

Among the decliners were: Cambior, dropping 6 cents to hit $4.11; TVX Gold, losing 12 cents to close at $1.03; Franco-Nevada Mining, closing down 25 cents to $20.10; and Euro-Nevada Mining, off 5 cents to $15.65.

The only base metal major that advanced over the period was Falconbridge, which rose 55 cents to $21.65. The miner stood out from the crowd by posting healthy second-quarter earnings of $30.9 million, with quarterly revenues receiving an $86-million boost due to the startup of the Collahuasi copper mine in Chile.

Rival nickel miner Inco was unchanged at $25.40 as the company announced that its cost-cutting measures had allowed it to improve its performance and break even in the second quarter.

With copper and zinc spot prices each down 2 cents, to 73 cents and 48 cents per lb., respectively, most of Canada’s copper and zinc miners showed declines: Noranda shed 20 cents to $20.10; Rio Algom lost 15 cents to $21.90; Teck’s B shares fell 50 cents to close at $11.60; and Cominco slipped 70 cents to $24.90. The best of the bunch were Boliden and Aur Resources, both of which were unchanged at $3.41 and $2.70, respectively.

Among the juniors, gold miner Richmont Mines added 20 cents to close at $2.70. The company reported small losses for the second quarter ($143,000) and the first half ($514,000) in 1999. The company is still debt-free and has $10 million in cash plus a $7-million credit facility.

About to regain its gold-producer status, St. Andrew Goldfields began open-pit mining activities at its Hislop property in Ontario. The open-pit operation is due to produce 20,000 oz. gold annually for two years at a cash cost of about US$195 per oz. The junior closed down a penny at 70 cents.

The most-active junior issue on the Toronto board was Tahera, which was 2 cents higher at 14 cents on a volume of 21.9 million shares. Tahera has arranged a private placement of $3.5 million in convertible debentures to finance work at its Jericho diamond project in Nunavut. The debentures, bearing interest at 8%, are convertible into shares at a minimum price of 12.5 cents per share starting in August 2000.