MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — EASTERN MARKETS — TSE climbs with a little help from base metals

The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 index jumped 150.44 points during the report period ended Nov. 2 to finish at 7,215.32. Resource stocks were mixed: the metals and minerals sub-group rose 10.57 points to 3,941.70, whereas the gold and precious metals subgroup fell 87.65 points to 5,371.96.

Rebounding partially from its previous nose-dive, gold jumped $1.35 to land at a London morning fix of US$291.75 per oz. on the morning of Nov. 3. Also up were silver, which rose 3 cents to US$5.22 per oz., and platinum, 50 cents stronger at US$415 per oz.

Once again, Canada’s major producers took a tumble: Kinross Gold plunged 37 cents to $3.60; Placer Dome dropped 20 cents to $17.90; and Barrick Gold fell 5 cents to $26.75.

Cambior sunk deeper in the financial mire, announcing it had taken a $33-million hit in the third quarter. The non-cash, pretax charge is related to the company’s hedging contracts, the source of its woes. Cambior ended the period at $2.20, down 34 cents.

Also off was TVX Gold, which dropped 17 cents to $1.25. A revised bankable feasibility study on the Oympias gold project in Greece confirmed viable annual output of 245,000 oz. gold in dor and 2.3 million oz. silver contained in lead concentrate.

Not all the golds were depressed: Cameco climbed $3.40 to $25.90 and Echo Bay Mines rose 9 cents to $2.60. The latter announced it will reopen the Lupin mine in Nunavut, with the first gold pour scheduled for April 2000.

Despite a 60 cents jump in nickel prices, Inco closed down 55 cents to $30.35, while Falconbridge dropped 30 cents to $22.25. Nickel was trading at US$3.66 per lb. on the morning of Nov. 3.

Noranda rose 55 cents to $19.80 on news of impressive financial results. Of particular note, the major generated $500 million in cash in the first nine months of the year — more than double what it made a year ago.

Cominco ascended 50 cents to $26. Teck, whose B-series shares rose 25 cents to $13.40, plans to acquire another 3 million shares in the zinc magnate, which would increase its ownership to 44%.

Among diamond stocks, Namibian Minerals skyrocketed $1.40 to $7.95, bringing it ever closer to its 52-week high of $9.25. The company has entrenched itself as the world’s second-largest marine diamond miner by acquiring a 92% interest in Ocean Diamond Mining.

Going the opposite direction was SouthernEra Resources, which fell 38 cents to $1.97 — a new 52-week low. The company has yet to announce a replacement for Chris Jennings, who will step down as president and CEO at year-end.

Among juniors, Montreal-listed Sulliden Exploration shot up 11 cents to $1.05. In Peru, the company is in the midst of a drill campaign at its Santo Toribio property, which is said to overlie the same hydrothermal system that formed the Pierina deposit, being mined by Barrick Gold.