TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE – NOV. 18-24

The S&P-TSX Composite Index took another beating over the Nov. 18-24 trading period with the mining sector especially hard hit. The index fell 4%, or 355 points to 8,441 points for the week after stooping to a closing low of 7,725 points mid-session as federal lawmakers south of the border debated whether to rescue the failing auto industry.

The Capped Metals and Mining Index plummeted nearly 22% or 54 points to 196 as metal prices held steady at depressed prices.

A jump in gold, on the other hand, helped boost the Global Gold Index by nearly 28% or 52 points to close at 238. Gold advanced more than US$100 per oz. over the period to US$822.50.

Gold stocks were the big winners amidst all the losses. Royal Gold rose $9.41 to $47.01, Newmont Mining surged $9.13 to $37.91 and Barrick Gold was up $8.84 to $34.98.

Debt-ridden Teck was the most actively traded miner over the period with 61.1 million shares traded, pushing the stock down $2.23 to $4.41 per share, after plunging to a multi-year low of $3.35 per share on Nov. 20. Low base metals prices and the collapse in metallurgical coal prices have forced the company to find ways to cut its suddenly unmanageable US$10-billion debt in half within the next year. Teck’s US$14-billion takeover of Fording Canadian Coal Trust — the cause of the debt — has forced the company to cancel its annual dividend, lower spending and sell off projects.

A surprise — and unpopular — proposed merger between Lundin Mining and Hud-Bay Minerals resulted in active trading for the two companies with 56.4 million and 30.8 million shares changing hands, respectively. Risk-taking Lundin, which has recently come into debt and liquidity issues, fell 33 to 95 per share, while HudBay, a stable miner with lots of cash and a shrinking production profile, fell about 40% to $3.31. The deal gives Lundin shareholders a 32% premium over the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price.

Fertilizer producers Potash Corp. ofSaskatchewan and Agrium continued their descent to new lows. Potash Corp. fell $11.87 to $72.69 from a 52-week high of $246.29 on June 18, while Agrium tumbled $43.54 to $8.61 per share compared with its 52-week high of $116.15. At a TD Newcrest agricultural conference in Toronto, the two companies said they were on the lookout for acquisitions.

NovaGold Resources shares plunged nearly 72%, putting it among the top losers over the period on a percentage basis. Its shares closed at 72 apiece after the company said it was closing its Rock Creek gold mine near Nome, Alaska, and that it couldn’t meet its near-term financial obligations. NovaGold says it won’t be able to make a $1.9-million payment on the Galore Creek copper-gold project in northwestern B. C., a 50-50 joint venture with Teck.

TSX most active issues
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Teck B	TCKB	61067	6.99	3.35	4.41	-2.23
Yamana Gold	YRI	61012	6.63	4.47	6.43	+ 1.45
Lundin Mng	LUN	56398	1.42	0.92	0.95	-0.33
Uranium One	UUU	48610	1.13	0.75	0.98	+ 0.01
High River Gol	HRG	46785	0.13	0.07	0.09	+ 0.02
HoriznsGBull	HGU	40942	9.35	4.67	8.27	+ 2.96
Kinross Gold	K	38822	19.18	13.39	17.70	+ 2.81
Goldcorp	G	38459	34.69	21.87	31.52	+ 7.27
Barrick Gold	ABX	35765	36.84	25.31	34.98	+ 8.84
HudBay Minls	HBM	30804	5.96	2.70	3.31	-2.59

TSX greatest percentage change
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Avnel Gold	AVK	260	0.04	0.03	0.04	+100.0
Claude Res	CRJ	780	0.39	0.17	0.34	+ 88.8
Silver Eagle	SEG	1284	0.09	0.03	0.09	+ 80.0
Silver Wtn wtA	SLW_TA	28	0.75	0.30	0.75	+ 66.6
Central Sun Mg	CSM	913	0.20	0.08	0.15	+ 66.6
Centerra Gold	CG	2414	2.37	1.17	1.93	+ 64.9
Horizns G Bull	HGU	40942	9.35	4.67	8.27	+ 55.7
Moneta Porcpn	ME	1329	0.06	0.03	0.06	+ 50.0
American Bonan	BZA	1853	0.03	0.02	0.03	+ 50.0
Vista Gold	VGZ	36	1.52	1.02	1.45	+ 47.9
North Atlc Res	NAC	1313	0.11	0.03	0.03	-78.5
NovaGold Res	NG	9734	2.82	0.47	0.72	-71.8
Cross Lake Mnr	CRN	1206	0.02	0.01	0.01	-66.6
New Dawn Mng	ND	10	0.10	0.05	0.05	-66.6
Moydow Mns Int	MOY	171	0.15	0.05	0.06	-60.0
Horizns G Bear	HGD	14658	11.38	3.84	4.45	-55.8
Carlisle Goldf	CGJ	520	0.03	0.02	0.02	-50.0
Virgin Metals	VGM	794	0.03	0.01	0.02	-50.0
Hard Creek Ni	HNC	720	0.19	0.08	0.09	-50.0
BRC DiamondCr	BCD	36	0.40	0.20	0.25	-50.0

TSX greatest value change
WEEK
		VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
IShCOMEXGTr	IGT	61659	100.00	+ 10.88
Royal Gold	RGL	21086	47.01	+ 9.41
Newmont Mng	NMC	208376	37.91	+ 9.13
Barrick Gold	ABX	35765271	34.98	+ 8.84
Goldcorp	G	38458502	31.52	+ 7.27
Agnico-Eagle	AEM	10995089	41.75	+ 4.96
Barrick Gd Inc	HCX	11789	18.39	+ 4.40
Central Gold-T	GTU_U	22405	40.20	+ 4.10
Pan Am Silver	PAA	2279042	15.81	+ 3.66
Horizns G Bull	HGU	40942064	8.27	+ 2.96
Potash Cp Sask	POT	13095341	72.69	-11.87
Horizns G Bear	HGD	14657514	4.45	-5.63
Agrium	AGU	11339951	33.80	-4.30
Teck A	TCKA	56516	8.61	-3.54
Inmet Mining	IMN	2501783	16.19	-3.36
Russell Metals	RUS	1822562	16.75	-3.29
Timminco	TIM	8169987	3.19	-3.18
First Quantum	FM	2926993	17.00	-3.04
Major Drilling	MDI	779186	12.35	-2.83
HudBay Minls	HBM	30803669	3.31	-2.59