MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — U.S MARKETS — Copper prices pull producers higher

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 204.85 points, or 1.9%, to close at 11,034.13 for the report period ended Sept. 7.

Copper miners led the charge as the price of the red metal on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange reached US81 cents. Phelps Dodge rose $1.62 to close at US$57.56 on the New York Stock Exchange. Australia’s Broken Hill Proprietary posted a strong gain of $1.57 to close at US$23.19.

Asarco picked up 93 cents to close at US$21.81, while merger partner Cyprus Amax Minerals added 81 cents to close at US$17.75.

Class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold advanced 62 cents and 25 cents to close at US$15 and US$16.31, respectively. Rio Tinto gained $1.06 to close at US$73.50.

Gold issues were mixed as the price of the metal languished at US$255.60 on Comex. Despite low prices, Anglogold added $1 to close at US$26.88. However, Ashanti Goldfields lost 56 cents to finish the week at US$6.89. Homestake Mining dipped 31 cents to close at US$8.19. Mid-sized Glamis Gold shed 13 cents to close at US$1.75.

American Stock Exchange-listed Apex Silver Mines hit an all-time high of US$13.44, climbing 56 cents after tabling a positive feasibility study for the San Cristobal silver-zinc project in Bolivia. Coeur d’Alene Mines, however, lost 44 cents to close at US$4.12 amid weak silver prices.

Platinum-producer Stillwater Mining advanced 82 cents to finish the week at US$22.88

Among the juniors, MK Gold jumped 40 cents to US85 cents, after announcing its intention to buy the Las Cruces copper deposit in Spain for US$42 million. Chief Consolidated Mining picked up 50 cents to close at US$3.81.