TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE -April 20-26

The TSX composite index increased over the April 20-26 trading period, gaining 178 points, or 1.5%, to close at 12,102.97 points.

The Capped Metals and Mining index also regained some points, rising 11.81, or 1.1%, to close at 1,118.20 points. The Global Gold index rose 6.98 points, or 2.1%, to close at 336.39.

African-focused gold miner Red Back Mining led the pack over the period increasing the most by value. The stock rose $1.91 to $25.81 and reached a new high of $26.15.

On the other side of the ledger, Greystar Resources found itself in the top spot after some alarming news from that Colombian Ministry of the Environment, Housing and Territorial Development had unexpectedly imposed altitude restrictions on the company’s Angostura gold project that threaten the project’s existence. The regulation was related to protecting the region’s high-altitude ecosystem, which is important to the country’s watershed. Greystar shares plummeted almost 43%, or $2.70 apiece, to close at $3.60 per share.

SouthGobi Energy experienced some grief over the period as the Mongolian government suspended the issuance of mining licenses and barred the practice of transferring permits, claiming that foreign companies aren’t exploring for minerals like they are supposed to. SouthGobi shares fell $2.42 to $13.35. The company owns the Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine and two development projects in Mongolia.

Talon Metals was the top gainer on a percentage basis, rising 25% to 40¢ per share on news that a consulting firm report found its Sergipe potash project in Brazil has potential to grow to a comparable size as other current large potash projects elsewhere in the world.

Erdene Resource Development shares jumped about 22% to 67¢ apiece over the period. The company reported that its Donkin coal project on Cape Breton Island, N.S., in which it has a 25% interest with joint-venture partner Xstrata’s subsidiary Xstrata Coal Canada, is progressing. The construction of a 2.5-km access road should be done by July and prefeasibility studies to add a wash plant to the coal handling facility and for the offshore transportation system are underway. Xstrata Coal is looking at producing 350,000 tonnes of run-of-mine coal per year, though delivery during the first few years will be via road transportation.

Teck Resources was a volume leader with 18.7 million shares changing hands as the share price moved up 81¢ to $43.23 apiece. The company has reinstated its annual dividend after repaying US$9.8 billion in debt that it took on to buy Fording Canadian Coal in the summer of 2008, as the market peaked before the autumn crash. The company’s current debt level is $5.4 billion after having reached as high as $13.4 billion.

TSX most active issues
		VOLUME		WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Western C Coal	WTN	20968	6.97	6.43	6.63	-0.15
Eastern Platin	ELR	20826	1.57	1.48	1.57	+ 0.11
Crowflight Mnl	CML	20803	0.20	0.19	0.20	-0.01
Cline Mng	CMK	19151	2.75	1.99	2.42	+ 0.37
Teck B	TCKB	18693	44.74	40.96	43.23	+ 0.81
New Gold	NGD	16864	5.97	5.14	5.94	+ 0.72
Kinross Gold	K	15255	18.33	17.68	18.20	+ 0.21
Yamana Gold	YRI	14391	10.54	9.92	10.38	+ 0.22
Rubicon Mnrls	RMX	14164	3.88	3.50	3.78	-0.10
Barrick Gold	ABX	13959	40.78	38.91	40.60	+ 0.84

TSX greatest percentage change
		VOLUME		WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Talon Metals	TLO	1395	0.43	0.32	0.40	+ 25.0
X-Cal Res	XCL	125	0.16	0.14	0.16	+ 23.0
Polaris Minls	PLS	1261	2.15	1.76	2.15	+ 22.1
Erdene Res Dev	ERD	2940	0.70	0.50	0.67	+ 21.8
BRC DiamondCr	BCD	581	0.21	0.15	0.17	+ 21.4
Duluth Metals	DM	2907	2.23	1.73	2.11	+ 18.5
Globex Mng	GMX	132	2.03	1.55	1.89	+ 18.1
Cline Mng	CMK	19151	2.75	1.99	2.42	+ 18.0
Intrepid Mnrl	IAU	2804	0.46	0.36	0.43	+ 16.2
Klondex Mns	KDX	512	1.57	1.35	1.54	+ 14.9
Greystar Res	GSL	7522	6.50	3.45	3.60	-42.8
DynacorGoldM	DNG	440	0.26	0.20	0.22	-21.4
Hard Creek Ni	HNC	513	0.57	0.41	0.43	-20.3
Virgin Metals	VGM	1180	0.05	0.04	0.04	-20.0
San Anton Res	SNN	270	0.20	0.16	0.16	-15.7
SouthGobi Engy	SGQ	802	15.55	13.19	13.35	-15.3
Gryphon Gold	GGN	100	0.19	0.17	0.17	-15.0
INV Metals	INV	306	1.14	0.93	0.93	-14.6
Treasury Metal	TML	829	0.82	0.63	0.67	-12.9
Contl Precious	CZQ	333	0.71	0.59	0.61	-12.8

TSX greatest value change
WEEK
		VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Red Back Mng	RBI	6510292	25.81	+ 1.91
First Quantum	FM	2488602	81.65	+ 1.69
Major Drilling	MDI	382797	27.38	+ 1.50
PotashCpSask	POT	4192546	109.91	+ 1.49
Goldcorp	G	11457938	40.87	+ 1.43
Agnico-Eagle	AEM	3836921	61.41	+ 1.40
Teck A	TCKA	12812	44.36	+ 1.36
Detour Gold	DGC	2224248	20.90	+ 1.35
Osisko Mng	OSK	7559711	9.85	+ 0.87
Franco-Nevada	FNV	1325435	28.13	+ 0.84
Greystar Res	GSL	7521742	3.60	-2.70
SouthGobi Engy	SGQ	802304	13.35	-2.42
Labdr I-Ore Ro	LIF_U	314685	52.62	-1.32
Agrium	AGU	5107759	62.15	-1.15
Ventana Gold	VEN	4000873	9.30	-0.87
Cameco Corp	CCO	6398042	25.52	-0.85
Inmet Mining	IMN	1434185	57.08	-0.82
Golden Mnls	AUM	71016	7.72	-0.49
Jaguar Mng	JAG	1227174	10.05	-0.42
Grande Cache C	GCE	7549468	7.90	-0.38