Resource stocks give benchmark a push

Buyers outpaced sellers over the Nov. 21-27 report period to push the The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 index up a respectable 81.35 points. The benchmark finished the week at 7,462.56 points.

Gold gained some ground, rising US$1.45 to a London morning fix of US$274.60 per oz. on Nov. 28. In step with the yellow metal, Barrick Gold rose 35 to $23.45 and Placer Dome climbed 27 to $16.40. New York-listed Homestake Mining plans to merge with Barrick and has mailed the prospectus to shareholders. A vote will follow on Dec. 14.

Kinross Gold slipped 7 to $1.04 as it announced a third-quarter loss of US$8.7 million (or 3 per share), bringing 9-month losses to US$19.6 million (8 per share). Nevertheless, cash flow for the periods were a healthy US$12.6 million and US$58.7 million, respectively.

Franco-Nevada Mining slipped 25 to $22.95 as the international fight over Australian Normandy Mining heats up. South African-based AngloGold, which is also vying for Normandy, has received conditional approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board for its bid. Meanwhile, the Takeovers Panel has greenlighted Normandy’s original rejection letter, which favours a rival bid from Franco and Newmont Mining, after AngloGold lodged a formal complaint. Normandy fell 88 over the period to end at $12.02.

Rising nickel and copper prices translated into a gain of 103.95 points for the exchange’s metals and minerals sub-group, which finished the period at 4,112.33. Spot nickel rose 3 to US$2.39 per lb. and copper, 2 to US68 per lb. Lead and zinc remained unchanged from the previous period.

The major producers all posted gains: Inco jumped $1.18 to $26.10; Teck Cominco climbed 45 to $11.60; Falconbridge rose 35 to $16.45; and Noranda ascended 23 to $15.13. On Nov. 28, Falco announced the discovery of a significant sulphide zone in the Sudbury Igneous Complex, just north of the city’s airport. The longest interval was 9.65 metres (starting at 1,598 metres down-hole) and averaged 3.43% nickel and 12.13% copper, plus 3.84 grams platinum, 3.13 grams palladium and 8.3 grams gold per tonne.

Lionore Mining edged ahead 5 to $2.15 as its 79%-owned Emily Ann sulphide project cranked out its first batch of nickel concentrate. Full-scale production at the annual rate of 250,000 tonnes is expected to follow early next year. The concentrate will be shipped to Inco’s Canadian smelters for processing.

Among juniors, Cumberland Resources dropped 11 to 78 despite the release of positive results from the Meadowbank gold project in Nunavut. Metallurgical tests on the Vault deposit, one of four outlined on the property, achieved a 92% recovery rate using conventional flotation techniques. The rate rises to 92.1% when combined with an initial pass through a gravity circuit.