Toronto Stock Exchange Listless performance a result of uncertainty

A cloud of uncertainty continued to hang over the exchange this week as investors remained liquid, showing reluctance to increase their positions until a clear sign of a market turnaround appears.

Choppy, directionless trading was the order of the day as the composite slipped 3 pts to 3265.7 pts. Higher interest rates, which have been the bain of traders for the past month, are effectively supressing activity.

Gold bullion remained listless, being pegged at $429(US) per oz on both London’s first and second fix. Despite the stagnation, the gold and silver index perked up adding 9.2 pts to 6,136.1 pts.

On a positive note, John Ing, the well-known gold analyst at Maison Placements Canada Inc., is predicting a $100(US) rise in the price of bullion if the Democrats take the U.S. presidential election this November. Ing is advising clients to take positions in only high capitalized gold producers, which usually are the first to respond to movements in gold price.

Senior golds were marginally better today. American Barrick Resources added 12 cents to $21.50. Lac Minerals, which is seeking a retrial of its Hemlo court case, remained unchanged at $13.50. The decision to consider or dismiss Lac’s motion is expected sometime next month, a Corona Corp. spokesman tells The Northern Miner. In the meantime, the final appeal of the original decision is set to be heard in October. Corona’s A share remained steady at $9.25.

Granges Exploration added 25 cents to $4.25 after dipping to a new low of $4 this week. The company is hurting from a major setback at its Tartan Lake gold mine in Manitoba. A bulk sample has resulted in a revision of the grade from 0.232 to 0.19 oz gold per ton. Abermin Corp. holds the remaining 50% stake in Tartan Lake. The issue was better at 47 cents .

Tightly-held Metalore Resources raced to $36 — up $1.50 on the day. Metalor e holds a 100% interest in the Brookbank gold deposit near Beardmore, Ont. The claim, however, is the subject of a legal dispute between Metalore and another Canadian resource company.

The threat of a strike appears very real at Falconbridge Ltd.’s Sudbury, Ont., nickel mines. The strike, which could start this Sunday, couldn’t come at a worse time for the company, which is going to finance its billion dollar stock purchase via debt. Any sort of strike is expected to move nickel prices even higher from the current $6.70(US) per lb. The issue was easier at $21.88.

Inco Ltd., which will be a beneficiary of any increase in nickel’s price, was marginally better at $35. Despite record earnings this year, the issue remains off its high of $42.50 reached earlier in the year.

One of the biggest winners in the junior sector was Midas Minerals. The company showed its `Midas’ touch by advancing to 60 cents from 40 cents on news that it has acquired the right to earn a 60% interest in the Tisdale property for $2 million. The Tisdale project was the subject of more than $8 million of exploration by partners Getty Resources and Davidson Tisdale Mines before they shut it down. Midas plans to test for mineralization at depth. Davidson Tisdale failed to trade today, remaining at 60 cents .

One of this country’s finest gold deposits and gold plays continues to get better. The Magnacon project in the Mishibishu area, operated by Muscocho Explorations, yielded more strong gold values from a new discovery 2.5 miles east of the mine development. Muscocho remained firm at $4.15.

The new chief at Noramco Mining Corp., Brian Pewsey, released some dismal operating results from that company’s Golden Rose mine in Ontario. For the second quarter, the grade hovered around 0.087 oz gold per ton and production totalled a paltry 1,950 oz of gold. The issue, which is teasing new lows, closed ta $2.60. Pewsey says that a new mine engineering team plans to turn the operation around this year.

Dickenson Mines A share was unchanged at $5.75. The company’s White mine at Red Lake, Ont., is suffering from high unit costs of more than $500(C) per oz of gold. However, the high cost results not from specific mine operating problems, but rather from charging on-going development costs directly to mine cash flow.