Trading Summary (July 17, 2003)

A 2.7-point gain to 165.67 by the gold index couldn’t keep the Toronto Stock Exchange out of the red on Thursday, as the S&P/TSX Composite Index ended 12.66 points lower at 7,069.35. The diversified miners managed to grab 1.05 points to hit 133.06.

Canada’s major gold producers all managed gains on the day. Barrick Gold was the busiest, with nearly 1.4 million shares trading their way 33 higher to $23.75. Kinross Gold was next advancing 34 to $8.49 on more than 1.1 million shares; Placer Dome brought up the rear, ending 45 higher at $16.35 with about half as many shares as Barrick traded.

Wheaton River topped them all activity-wise, dropping a penny to $1.68 on just short of 2.4 million shares on the go. Bema Gold was next in line, dropping 2 pennies to $1.96 with about 1.75 million shares changing hands.

Gabriel Resources shed another 2 to hit $2.40 after cancelling a plan to sell 10 million shares at $2.80 apiece on a best-efforts basis. The offering was to have replaced a recently nixed $28-million bought-deal financing. Proceeds were earmarked for the company’s 80% owned Rosia Montana gold project in Romania.

Alcan left most of the other diversified mining index dwellers in the dust, gaining 20 to make $43.30 on a trading volume of around 1.1 million shares. On Thursday, Reuters reported that Alcan would delay filing a hostile takeover bid for France’s Pechiney with European regulators. The aluminum giant cited unspecified “legal reasons” for the delay. Nonetheless, Alcan said it would not affect its goal of wrapping up the acquisition by mid-October. Alcan also said it was willing to negotiate the terms of the deal.

Ivanhoe Mines ended 2 higher at $3.32. The company will hold a conference call on July 21 to discuss the new, independent resource estimate for the Far North Zone at its Turquoise Hill (Oyu Tolgoi) gold-copper project in Mongolia. The resource estimate is due out before market opening the same day.

Canada’s junior exchange managed to end the day in the black for the first time this week as investors showed a renewed interest in oil & gas related issues. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index gained 2.02 points, or 0.18% and closed at 1,108.46.

Donner Minerals added 3 to close at 18 on just over 1 million shares traded. The junior’s joint venture partner, Falconbridge has field crews at the South Voisey Bay project in Labrador. Work is slated to include geological and geophysical follow-up of previously identified airborne MegaTEM electromagnetic anomalies. Falconbridge can earn a 50% interest in the entire South Voisey Bay project by spending $23 million over 5 years.

Spider Resources ended the day unchanged at 11 on 755,300 shares traded. The junior along with equal partner KWG Resources are in the midst of a 10-hole drill program over the McFauld’s Lake massive sulphide project on the Spider #3 property in the James Bay Lowlands of northern Ontario. KWG ended the day at 13.1, down 1.5 on 177,045 shares traded.

Wolfden Resources rebounded from yesterday’s sell-off climbing a nickel to close at $2.59 on 133,933 shares traded. Over the past week shares in Wolfden rose on drill results from the West Zone discovery at its 100% owned High Lake property in Nunavut. The first two holes have intersected up to 6.15% copper, 1.91% zinc, 142.3 grams silver and 3.49 grams gold per tonne. The West Zone discovery was made while following up an airborne anomaly identified from a 2002 regional airborne geophysical survey.