Trading Summary (January 02, 2003)

Toronto’s base metal issues outshone their gold counterparts on Thursday, gaining 2.89 points or more than 2% to make 133.61. A late-day climb helped the Gold Index to a 0.21-of-a-point gain to 200.78. In New York, the yellow metal dropped US$1.70 to US$345.80 per oz. Overall, the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 125.51 or nearly 2% to 6,740.05 points.

Gold’s drop sent a host of gold issues south. Geomaque Explorations was the busiest mining issue shedding half a penny to 12.5 on more than 2.8 million shares. Others on the slide were: South American Gold and Copper, off 0.5 to $7; Kinross Gold, slipped 6 to $3.81; Eldorado Gold, off 2 pennies at $2.05; GoldCorp, which slid 7 to $19.99; and TVI Pacific, half a penny lower at 8.

Late-day gains spared Placer Dome, which ended 15 higher at $18.01, and Barrick Gold, which managed a 35 gain to come in at $24.70. Wheaton River Minerals put in an 11 gain to make $1.58.

Alcan ranked as Canada’s most traded base metal miner with just more than 1.1 million shares trading their way to a $1.67 gain to a $48 close. On Thursday, Alcan said that its posted U.S. January transaction prices are unchanged from December. Alcan said its price for 99.7% remelt ingot remained at US71 cents per lb.; its 6063 extrusion billet remained at US81. Inco was next in line making 55 to hit $33.93. Most of the others put in similar gains.

Falconbridge added 62 to reach $15.74. On Thursday, Falconbridge said that it has secured U.S. oil supplies to keep its Falcondo operations in the Dominican Republic running into February, reports Reuters. The operation has been running at about 70% of capacity for the last 2 weeks thanks to a national strike in Venezuela, its main oil supplier.

The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index closed up 9.28 points, or 0.86%, to 1083.36 with 26.7 million shares traded. Advancers beat decliners 280-to-229.

Coral Gold was the market darling yet again with 1.3 million shares traded. The junior lost 2 and closed the day at 62. Coral has a rig turning on the property that adjoins the Pipeline gold mine in Nevada.

Hunter-Dickinson-led Amark Resources jumped 11 and closed at 35 on 977,362 shares. The company was recently touted by news letter writer Clif Drake. Amark holds ground in the Inde mining district of Mexico and the Fox River property in Manitoba.

ECU Silver Mining closed flat 9 with 559,888 shares traded. The company holds the Valardena property in Mexico. The project has a total resource of 2.5 million tonnes grading 2.8 grams gold and 269 grams silver.