TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE (March 17, 2008)

The TSX Composite Index finished the March 4-10 trading period off slightly at 13,005.09 points, with the index’s ties to natural resources the key culprit. Material stocks fell with commodity prices on concerns that U. S. demand may weaken and word that copper imports in China declined.

The Global Gold Index tracked the price of gold downward. The yellow metal fell close to US$20 for the period to US$969.25 per oz., while the index was off roughly 13 points to 354.91. The other precious metals, silver, platinum and palladium, also fell in price, with silver dropping below US$20 per oz. to US$19.57 per oz. and platinum tumbling below US$2,000 per oz. to US$1,947.

Still, precious metals miners remained the most actively traded of the sector, with Eastern Platinum trading close to 60 million shares, and Kinross Gold and Yamana Gold rounding out the top three with roughly 36 million and 34 million shares traded, respectively.

News in the base metals camp wasn’t much better, as copper, aluminum, lead and zinc prices all fell. The Capped Metals and Mining Index ended the week roughly 50 points lower at 795.21, even though nickel and tin prices managed to make slight gains.

But it wasn’t all bad news for miners as heavy trading drove Niocan’s share price up 36% to 75. The company issued a press release saying it knew of no material reason for the significant uptick. Montreal-based Niocan is developing the Oka niobium property, 50 km northwest of Montreal.

Word that Dundee Precious Metals had come to an agreement in principle with the Bulgarian government regarding the expansion of the Chelopech copper-gold mine, had the company’s shares up 27 to $7.42. Dundee will pay a higher royalty of 2-8% for mined metals at the site, sign a full environmental reclamation bond, and will give the government a 25% stake in a new smelter that is scheduled to take 18 months to build.

Drill results from its Langmuir project, near Timmins, Ont., did little to help Inspiration Mining’s stock price. The company’s shares wound up losing 27.5% over the period on the results — highlighted by 1.22% nickel over 6.25 metres — finishing at $1.42.

Crescent Gold also came out on the losing side, as its shares fell nearly 27% to $2.39 for the session. The only news emanating from the Australian-based miner’s head office was that its wholly owned subsidiary, Southern Uranium, had executed a joint-venture deal on two prospective uranium properties in Australia.

Mega Uranium also lost ground, falling 24% to $2.39 after announcing it was acquiring Energentia Resources in an all-share offer. Like Mega, Energentia holds uranium ground in Colombia, some of which is adjacent to Mega’s properties. Mega will issue roughly 4% or 7.2 million of its total shares to Energentia shareholders — representing a 61% premium on Energentia shares.