Toronto Stock Exchange Noranda, Inco issues up as summer strikes

What may be remembered as the summer of discontent gained momentum during the week ended July 10, as employees at Brunswick Mining & Smelting’s Belledune smelter prepared to join their colleagues at Trail, B.C., and elsewhere. Since striking workers have already forced closures at Brunswick’s lead-zinc mine near Bathurst, N.B., and the Cominco smelter at Trail, analysts are expecting lead and zinc prices to rise.

Today, July 11, zinc closed up US5 cents at US80 cents, while lead remained steady at 41 cents per lb. Shares of both Noranda (which owns 67% of Brunswick Mining) and Inco responded with an increase of 50 cents and 62 cents respectively.

As non-union employees and maintenance personnel remained trapped by picketers inside the Trail smelter, the outlook for gold remains less clear. Earlier in the week, a minor sell-off by Middle Eastern dealers drove the yellow metal down US$3 to US$354.50. That is approximately where it finished today, July 11, on the Second London price fix.

The gold index lost 43.61 points as a number of issues including American Barrick Resources, Corona, Hemlo Gold Mines and Echo Bay Mines lost ground. Echo Bay was the biggest casualty. It gave up 75 cents while Corona A and Barrick each lost 12 cents each.

As the market waited for second- quarter results to be made available this week, trading continued on its largely directionless pattern. The composite 300 index, which represents a wide range of Canadian share values, gained 16.58 points to close at 3544.52 on a volume of 21 million shares.

A lawsuit that American Barrick claims as totally without merit continues to pop up as Utah company Gold Standard holds its own in the pre-trial phase.

Gold Standard, which is fighting to regain its stake in Barrick’s Mercur gold mine in Utah, appeared to win some points this week when a judge refused to dismiss a separate lawsuit launched by Gold Standard against a British mining finance house.

The Utah company is accusing Samuel Montagu & Co. of sharing confidential information supplied by Gold Standard that eventually enabled Barrick to acquire the mine.

Sherritt Gordon added 13 cents to its share price following indications that it will invest in Canadian nickel projects in a bid to secure feed supplies for its Alberta refinery.

Among the favorites is Black Hawk Mining’s Minago deposit south of Thompson, Man. Having outlined 17.8 million tons of grade 1.28% nickel, Black Hawk is looking around for financing to develop the project. Black Hawk remained steady today at 95 cents.

Wilanour Resources gained 25 cents earlier this week following news that partner Inco Gold has reached the test mining phase of a $5-million program at the Cochenour-Willans gold mine near Red Lake, Ont. Wilanour ended the week at $2.15.

Skyline Gold also added 15 cents during the week after announcing plans to shut down its Johnny Mountain gold project in northwest British Columbia. The closure that many had anticipated was due to Skyline’s inability to develop more economic gold reserves, according to Chairman Ron Shon. Placer Dome underlined its commitment to the Iskut River, Eskay Creek region of British Columbia by optioning Skyline’s Bronson Creek and Bonanza West gold prospects.

While other gold producers were falling victim to current gold prices, Placer Dome gained 13 cents before closing at $17.88.

A deep drill hole designed to intersect separate copper and zinc- rich zones 3,000 ft. below surface at Wrightbar Mines’ Bourlamaque Twp. property, east of Val d’Or, Que., is expected to reach its destination this week.

Operator St. Genevieve Resources is hoping to find a massive sulphide deposit like the one being explored by subsidiary Societe Miniere Louvem and Aur Resources in nearby Louvicourt Twp. But the jury is still out on the Wrightbar bet. As investors wait for the results, St. Genevieve gave up 8 cents as 119,292 shares changed hands.

A number of Toronto brokers are predicting that St. Genevieve Chairman Pierre Gauthier won’t agree to sell its 8.7 million Louvem shares until the Louvicourt massive sulphide discovery is fully delineated.

Meanwhile, Golden Rule Resources is moving ahead with its bid to build up gold reserves at the Byers mineral belt in the La Ronge area in northern Saskatchewan.

Initial results the Kaslo property, one of four projects on which the company is spending $2.4 million, include a 52.5-ft. intersection averaging 0.19 oz. gold per ton. A higher-grade section in the hole yielded 25 ft. of 0.24 oz. Golden Rule remained stalled today at $1.10.