Trading Summary (June 04, 2003)

The Toronto Stock Exchange gained 70.08 points to breach the 7,000 mark for the first time in almost a year, hitting 7,001.33 on Wednesday. The gold index tacked on 1.03 points to hit 163.94, while the base metal miners gained 2.22 points to reach 129.78. TVI Pacific dropped half a penny to $6.5 with more than 3 million shares crossing the floor to rank as the most traded mining stock. There was no immediate news out of the company.

Fresh off of reporting record first-quarter earnings, Wheaton River Minerals placed a close second, unchanged at $1.48 with around 2.8 million shares on the go.

Canada’s major gold producers fell in line behind. Kinross, off 18 at $9.06 was the busiest with 2.4 million shares traded. Placer Dome was next, gaining 33 to make $15.15; Barrick Gold found 18 to reach $24.61.

Cumberland Resources rose a nickel to $2.55 after reporting that last year’s drilling on the Connector zone and North Portage deposit has enhanced the economics of the Meadowbank gold project, some 70 km north of Baker Lake in Nunavut.

LionOre Mining International added another penny to make $6.01, a new 52-week high. The company plans to merge with Australia’s Dalrymple Resources, its 40% partner in the Wildara joint venture in that country.

Inco and Alcan were the only other base metal miners to see more than a million shares move. Inco grabbed another 80 to $28.24 as nickel prices climb in reaction to a strike at the nickel miner’s Sudbury operations. Alcan made 54 to reach $44.21.

Canada’s junior exchange lost ground for the first time this week with declining issues out pacing advancers by a 329-to-279 margin. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index ended the day 3.19 points, or 0.29% lower and closed at 1,087.01.

Miranda Mining lost 1 to close at 16 on over 1.7 million shares traded. The junior holds a number of projects in Mexico’s Guerrero state including a stake in the Nukay-La Aguita gold mine, as well as the surrounding Nukay project with Toronto-listed Teck Cominco.

Shares in IMA Explorations continued to move higher following news that a recently completed soil sampling survey over the highly touted Navidad silver discovery in Patagonia, Argentina has extended the metal anomalies in soils to an overall strike length of 5.8 km. Highlights of the soil survey include a 1,7 km-by-300 metre silver-copper-lead anomaly over the Navidad Hill and Galena Hill areas. Greater than 2 grams silver per tonne and generally greater than 100 parts per million copper defines the soil anomaly. IMA ended the day up 7, to $1.20 with 492,450 shares crossing the floor.

Bishop Resources ended the day at 12.5, up 1 on 450,000 shares traded. Stock in the junior has traded heavily since it staked ground adjoining its Gordon Lake gold property in the Northwest Territories. The newly acquired project host 12 gold-bearing zones, which have been drill tested by some 79 holes. The best results from the historic drilling include 58 grams gold per tonne over 1.3 metres and 96.7 grams gold over 0.8 metre.

Investors took profits in Donner Minerals following news that a 2,200 line km MegaTEM geophysical survey over the eastern half of the South Voisey Bay nickel sulphide project in Labrador had identified nine target areas for follow up work. Shares in the junior fell 3, to close at 20 on a volume of 339,000.