Toronto Stock Exchange (August 05, 1991)

Speculation that Placer Dome will soon be in a position to begin drilling on 39 claims returned to Metalore Resources after its court battle with Ontex Resources sent Metalore roaring to $13.75 from $10 during the week ended July 30.

Rumor has it that Placer is trying to persuade Metalore President George Chilian not to appeal last December’s court decision awarding 471 adjacent Brookbank claims previously held by Metalore to Ontex. Known to host 1.4 million tons of 0.26 oz. gold per ton, the claims are near Beardmore, Ont. But neither Chilian nor Ontex Vice-President Ross McGroarty was prepared to comment when contacted by The Northern Miner. McGroarty would say only that his company is close to cutting a deal with a major mining company but won’t be in a position to make an announcement for at least another week. Ned Goodman wasn’t in the room this week when Corona President Peter Steen met with journalists in Toronto to discuss a corporate reshuffle designed to make Corona a more simplified pure gold producer.

But as indicated by the voting structure of Dundee Bankcorp, a new company set up to own 30% of Corona and all of Corona’s non-gold mining assets, Goodman didn’t need to be. By owning 70% of Dundee Bancorp’s voting shares, Goodman and his associates are still very much in charge within a mining, resource and merchant banking group that is still difficult to understand. An indication that investors view the reorganization as a reshuffle rather than a significant change in the Goodman empire was a drop in the price of Corona shares to $8.13 from $10 last week.

In fairness to Goodman, Corona wasn’t helped by this week’s US$4.35 in the price of gold. Today, July 31, the yellow metal closed at US$362.85 in London as Statistics Canada released economic figures indicating that Canada is technically out of its year-long recession. However, even though Toronto’s composite 300 index declined today for the first time in five sessions, share prices generally are being pressured by fears that North America will soon enter another recession. The composite 300 fell by 9.22 points to 3539.64 as 21.6 million shares worth $245.2 million changed hands.

Also affecting stocks are the second-quarter earnings which continued to trickle out this week. Shares of Noranda, for instance, gave up 25 cents today after the resource giant reported second-quarter earnings of two cents a share, down from 24 cents a year ago. Noranda has had some encouragement from arctic drilling financed by Nanisivik Mines affiliates Aber Resources and Highwood Resources. Seven holes spaced about 1,000 metres apart intersected disseminated to massive sulphides in sandstone at the Victoria Island project. But Highwood was unchanged today at 88 cents while Aber gave up one cent.

For the first time since 1985, Platinum could be bought more cheaply than gold this week. As platinum fell to US$362.90 per oz., due to a sell-off in Japan and shipments out of Russia to Switzerland, shares of Madeleine Mines gave up 15 cents to close at $4.45.

Other active stocks included Galactic Resources which advanced by 12 cents to 92 cents following news that Toronto merchant banker DCC Equities has become the company’s biggest shareholder. Galactic is planning to acquire DCC’s interests in seven mining companies and four oil and gas companies. In return for the resource interests and $3 million cash, DCC is picking up 47% of Galactic’s common shares. As Ned Goodman is chairman of DCC, this begs the question as to whether Galactic will soon merge with the new Corona.