Trading Summary (June 12, 2003)

A US$2.20-per-oz. drop in the price of gold in New York sent Toronto’s gold stocks a quarter-point lower to 165.15 on Thursday. The yellow metal ended the day at US$352.90. The diversified miners fared slightly better, edging up 0.46 of a point to 131.26. Overall, the S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 6.09 points to reach 7,106.86.

TVI Pacific vaulted to the top of the mining class, gaining half a cent to 8 with nearly 8 million shares traded. On Thursday, TVI said that the first phase of commissioning at its Canatuan gold-silver oxide plant in the Philippines has been completed. Plant throughput has climbed 20% to around 60 tonnes per day. Throughput will soon be increased to 70 tonnes daily.

Wheaton River Minerals was next in line, ending a penny poorer at $1.56 on a trading volume of 5.4 million shares. Geomaque Explorations took the bronze, gaining 1 to $6.5 on about 2 million shares.

Gammon Lake Resources ended unchanged at $2.25 after tabling a robust independent scoping study for its Northeast Ocampo gold project in Mexico’s Chihuahua state. The company also recently reported a new resource at the wholly owned project.

Canada’s major gold producers were mixed. Barrick Gold fell 21 to $24.28 and Kinross Gold dropped 4 to $9.18, while Placer Dome grabbed 15 to make $15.68.

Inco outpaced the other base metal miners, but was unchanged at $28.07 on more than a million shares. Sherritt International was close behind, dropping a nickel to $4.58 on about 990,000 shares.

Breakwater Resources ended unchanged at 18.5. The company has updated the feasibility study at its Langlois base metal mine in northwestern Quebec, to include the recently blocked out 419,600 tonnes of new reserves running 8.1% zinc and 1.7% copper, plus 46.9 grams silver and 0.1 gram gold per tonne.

Canada’s junior exchange ended the day higher despite with advancing stocks outpacing declining issues by a 313-to-311 margin. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index ended the day 2.34 points, or 0.21% higher and closed at 1,106.76.

Amerigo Resources, formerly Golden Temple Mining, lost 2 to close at 68 on 2.1 million shares traded. The company has the option to purchase 100% of the outstanding shares and debt of Chilean-based Minera Valle Central S.A. (MVC). A final report by engineering firm AMEC assessed a number of potential expansion and improvement projects which may be undertaken to increase copper production.

Shear Minerals added 3, to close at 95 on a volume of over 579,000 shares traded. The company, along with partners Northern Empire Minerals and BHP Billiton reported that a second kimberlite has been discovered on the Churchill diamond project. Hole 2 tested anomaly CK156, a circular magnetic low anomaly measuring 150-by-150 metres some 6-km north of the first hole.

Kensington Resources jumped 11 to close at $1.34 on 390,000 shares traded. The junior is awaiting final diamond recovery results for the Fort a la Corne joint venture property near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The operator of the project, De Beers Canada Exploration, is analyzing a mini bulk samples at their secure facility located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

New Shoshoni Ventures tumbled from a 52-week high, losing 11 to close at 73 on 526,430 shares traded. The junior reported that diamonds have been recovered from the second drill hole intersecting the DB-02 kimberlite on the Drybones property in the Northwest Territories. Out of a 172.9 kg sample, some 142 diamonds were recovered.