Trading Summary (September 26, 2003)

The Toronto Stock Exchange suffered its third straight loss falling 80.29 to 7,433.08 on Friday. The consumers staples subindex fared the best of the bunch, ending unchanged at 162.05. The golds plummeted 4.4% to 189.69, as the yellow metal shed US$3.60 to US$380.20 in New York. The base metal miners dropped 2.75 points to 159.64.

Junior Ariane Gold was an oddity among gold stocks, rocketing 21, or 22%, to a new year-high of $1.18 on 3.3 million shares. Intermediate producer Cambior tabled plans to merge with Ariane under an all-stock deal worth around $62 million. The key is Ariane’s Camp Caiman gold project in Guiana. For their part, Cambior shares were off 24, or 6.3%, to $3.59.

Bigger losers among the remaining golds were Placer Dome, off $1.15 to $17.85, Kinross Gold, down 57 to $9.90, Iamgold, 54& lower at $7.96, and Miramar Mining, which fell 21 to $2.22.

The picture was as grim among the base metal miners. Ivanhoe Mines was the busiest, falling 40 to $7.89 on 2.7 million shares. Swedish miner Boliden stood out with a 24 gain to $4.50.

Canada’s junior exchange ended the trading week modestly low as falling bullion price drove investors away from the gold sector. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index dropped 8.51 points, or 0.60%, and closed at 1,383.18.

Afcan Mining lost half a penny to close at 35 on 10.3 million shares traded. The junior doubled the amount of a recent financing to $10 million. The 40 million units are priced at $0.25 each. A unit holds one share and half a warrant. A full warrant is exercisable at $0.375 for a two-year period. The proceeds are earmarked for drilling on the TJS gold project in China.ECU Silver Mining continued to trade heavily falling 1.5 to 12.5, with 3nearly 3.4 million shares traded. The stock resumed trading Aug. 8 after a cease-trading order was lifted. The original vendors have challenged ECU’s ownership (through a subsidiary) of the mining properties in the Velardena area of Mexico. The dispute has resulted in a production shortfall: only 2,606 tonnes were milled between March 24 and May 4 instead of the 5,000 tonnes planned. The average grades for that period were 6.15 grams gold and 299 grams silver, with recoveries of 75% for gold and 38% for silver.

Northern Dynasty Minerals got a boost on the latest drill results from the Pebble gold-copper-molybdenum deposit in Alaska. One of the holes collared outside the western boundary of the deposit cut 46.5 metres grading 0.92% copper equivalent. Shares in the Hunter Dickinson-led company gained 29 to close at $3.06 on 569,414 shares traded.