MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — EASTERN MARKETS — TSE rebounds while producers have mixed week

Over the report period ended Nov. 17, the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 index overcame losses incurred in the previous week, with the broad market rising 1.3% to end the period at 6,337.78

The TSE’s precious metals and minerals sub-group fell 69.36 points to 6,731.40. However, metal traders continued to resuscitate gold, with the London Metal Exchange setting a price for the yellow metal of US$294.40 per oz. on the morning of Nov. 18, up $2.65 over the week. Silver was not so lucky, dropping in price for the third straight week. An ounce of the white metal was worth US$4.96 per oz., down 3 cents.

Having faced some hardships of late, platinum managed to rebound $11 to US$349 per oz.

Greenstone Resources climbed 24 cents to $2.15, the highest gain of any gold producer. The company’s Central American operations reportedly withstood the fury of Hurricane Mitch. Other producers that recorded gains include: Placer Dome, up 10 cents to $24.60; Kinross Gold, up 11 cents to $4.37; and TVX Gold, up 10 cents to $3.15. Going the opposite way was Barrick Gold, down $1.10 to $31.90.

William Resources dropped a penny to 9 cents on poor third-quarter production and news that it will close its Jacobina mine in Brazil several months sooner than anticipated. That closure will be the third since the company began an aggressive — and costly — acquisition program in 1996. William will soon have just two producing mines, in Sweden and Finland. However, Pahtavaara in Finland has limited reserves and may not be producing in the new year.

The metals and minerals sub-index rose 30.03 points, to end the period at 3,452.69. Nickel was valued at US$1.89 per lb. on the morning of Nov. 18, an increase of 2 cents. The metal’s newfound strength — it has risen in each of the past four periods — translated into a gain for Inco, with the major ascending 45 cents to $18.75.

Noranda was up 45 cents, to $24.65, on news that partial funding for the Antamina copper-zinc project in Peru has been secured. Curiously, partners Rio Algom and Teck each dropped in value — Rio Algom fell 25 cents to $22, while Teck’s B securities dropped 20 cents to $12.80.

Greystar Resources was up again, edging ahead 7 cents to 85 cents. The junior gained 23 cents over the previous period after an independent engineering firm calculated a resource at the Angostura gold-silver project in Colombia twice as large as the one the company arrived at. By presstime, the company had jumped another 10 cents.