STOCK MARKETS — Lytton soars to high of 80 cents on soil

Having discounted weeks ago a rejection of the Charlottetown Accord, eastern markets strengthened in the days after a majority of Canadians voted against the deal.

Bolstered by the positive investor reaction, The Toronto Stock Exchange’s composite 300 index posted a 34-point gain for the week ended Oct. 27, while the Montreal Exchange’s market portfolio added 42 points. Today, (Oct. 28), the TSE 300 surged to 3335 points for a gain of 48 points with 50 million shares changing hands.

But gold stocks failed to join the rally. Under pressure from Middle East selling and lower-than-expected inflation in the U.S., gold tumbled to US$337.75 per oz. from US$344.25 in New York. The gold index lost 10 points. Declining gold stocks included American Barrick Resources, down $1.87 to $36.50; Lac Minerals, down 50 cents to $7.50; Placer Dome, down 63 cents to $14.13, and Homestake Mining, off 62 cents to finish the week at a new 52-week low of $14.38.

Reporting third-quarter earnings of $11.9 million compared with $12.9 million for the same period last year, Hemlo Gold Mines shed 25 cents to $9.13. Royal Oak Mines, whose third-quarter earnings jumped by almost $1 million to $2.9 million despite a lengthy strike at its Giant mine, lost 10 cents to $1.70. Trading more than four million shares, Lytton Minerals added 50 cents to touch a new high of 80 cents, before settling back to close the week at 60 cents. The company reports the recovery of chrome diopsides in two samples taken from its 1.1-million-acre property north of Lac de Gras, N.W.T. sources say the diamond indicator minerals were recovered from till samples, as opposed to esker samples, and therefore suggest a nearby source. Lytton tacked on another 12 cents to 72 cents today.

Other active diamond stocks included Westfort Petroleums, up one penny to 13 cents, and Pure Gold Resources, up one penny to 13 cents.

Soon to join the TSE-listed diamond stocks is Dia Met Minerals. Currently traded on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, Dia Met has been accepted for listing in Toronto and expects to be called for trading within 2-4 weeks. Having won the right to an Ontario Securities Commission hearing, Asbestos Corp. minority shareholders drove the stock to a new high of $15.13 before allowing it to settle at $12.50 for a $2.50 gain. Minority shareholders were shut out of a deal that saw Asbestos Corp. become a Quebec Crown corporation in 1986, and have been demanding a hearing to probe the takeover ever since. A controlling interest in Asbestos Corp. was recently sold to ME-listed Societe d’Exploration Miniere Mazarin. Mazarin finished the week at 66 cents for a gain of 6 cents.

Inco gave investors a pleasant surprise by reporting much stronger third-quarter earnings. In response, investors pushed the stock higher even though the nickel producer slashed its quarterly dividend by 60%. Inco posted its first gain in weeks, adding 25 cents to $26.75.

But fellow nickel producer Sherritt Gordon continued to perform poorly, touching a new low of $6.25 before closing the week unchanged at $6.63. The nickel price inched up by 3 cents, opening in London today at US$2.78. per lb. Montreal-listed Societe Miniere Louvem closed unchanged at $2.90 after announcing its intention to proceed with a $45-million rights issue to finance its share of the Louvicourt project.

Brunswick Mining and Smelting posted a 13 cents gain to $9.75 after reporting third-quarter earnings of $8.4 million, compared with a loss of $6.6 million last year. Brunswick attributed the turnaround to higher zinc prices and continued record production.

Zinc opened in London this morning at 50 cents per lb., down a penny from last week’s close.

Tri Origin Exploration says it will resume drilling on the Lewis Ponds polymetallic property in Australia during the first week of November. The 1,000-metre program will include widely spaced stepout holes around hole TLPD-4, which returned 20.5 metres of 4.23% zinc and 3.77 grams gold per tonne. Tri Origin was 75 cents bid, 90 cents ask at the close of the report period.