Montreal Exchange New and old both active

Wednesday close, Sept 3

One of the country’s newest gold producing companies and one of its oldest shared the spotlight on the Montreal Exchange this week as the gold price surged above $400 pulling gold equities along in its wake.

Units of Cambior, a company formed earlier this year by the Quebec government in its first attempt at privatization, was up $2.25 to $14.12 on 317,700 units traded while Dome Mines, the dean of Canadian gold producers, picked up $1.38 to close at $10.25 on 269,100 shares.

Cambior, which issued 15 million units earlier this summer at $10 each, owns most of the government’s former gold holdings including a 50% interest in the Doyon mine. The units will split this fall into a common share and one-half a share-purchase warrant each.

L. Messel, a U.K. stockbroker and subsidiary of Shearson Lehman which underwrote the original issue, estimates that at $11.25 the Cambior units are trading at a discount of at least 50% to their underlying market value.

Dome appears to have regained some of the investor confidence it seemed to have lost when it dipped to $6.75 recently.

Most of the gold issues made gains on the coattails of the gold price: Agnico Eagle was up 88 cents to $26.75 on 18,300 shares, Echo Bay was up $1.88 to $29.12 on 103,200 shares, Lac Minerals was up 62 cents to $24.75 on 55,600 shares, Muscocho was up 35 cents to $4.10 on 48,000 shares and Belmoral was up 25 cents to $2.50 on 79,200 shares.

However, one of the biggest percentage gains among gold producers, next to Cambior which was up almost 19%, was Aiguebelle Resources up 40 cents to $2.40 on 46,300 shares for a 16% gain on the week.