Trading Summary (December 15, 2003)

The energy, technology and health care sectors led the Toronto Stock Exchange 47.09 points lower to end Monday’s trading session at 7,932.11. The diversified miners continued higher, just one of four subindices to do so, adding 1.46 points to make 208.66. The golds began the week on a sour note dropping 0.39 of a point to 226.35.

Wheaton River Minerals was the exchange’s second busiest issue with just short of 11.4 million shares drifting 12 lower to $3.60. McWatters Mining was a close second, ending unchanged at 6 on just shy of 11 million shares. Eldorado Gold grabbed the bronze making 4 to reach $4.09 with about 4.1 million shares traded. On Monday, Eldorado tabled mixed results from Preliminary drilling in the Biga peninsula of western Turkey.

Canada’s major gold producers put in mixed results with the yellow metal dropping US50 to US$408.70 per oz. Placer Dome was the most active dropping 16 to $22.20 on about 2.4 million shares, Kinross Gold dropped a penny more to $10.58, while Barrick Gold managed to rise 36 to $29.12. On Monday, Pacific Rim Minerals said that Kinross has filed to sell up to its entire 22% stake in the junior. For their part, shares in Pac Rim ended 28, or nearly 14%, cheaper at $1.75.

Ivanhoe Mines led the base metal miners with nearly 1.6 million shares advancing 28 to $9.98, Aur Resources was next with a 31 gain to $6.11, and Teck Cominco rounded out the top three adding 64 to make $19.99. On Monday, Reuters reported that Highland Valley Copper, majority owned by Teck, would not revise its latest contract offer to unionized workers at the Highland Valley Copper mine, in British Columbia. The previous five-pact expired at the end of September.

On the diamond watch, DiamondWorks jumped 14, or 9%, to $1.69 after tabling plans for a private placement worth up to $10.8 million.

Canada’s junior exchange started the trading week off on a down note with advancing stocks loosing to declining stocks 389 to 487. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index lost 9.25 points, or 0.55% and closed at 1,660.99 with 61.6 million shares traded.

ECU Silver Mining lost 1.5 and closed at 21.5 with 1.1 million shares traded. The company holds several silver properties in Mexico.

Trio Gold closed the day flat at 10 with 1.0 million share traded. Trio Gold currently owns a 100% interest in the Rodeo Creek property that is located 3 km northwest of the Dee gold mine at the north end of the Carlin Trend, in Elko County, Nevada.

IBI added a penny to its value and finished at 6 with 1 million shares changing hands. The company is in the process of designing a new processing line for the existing processing plant at its wholly-owned Namekara vermiculite mine site in Uganda, at an estimated cost of US$50,000. This line will produce superfine vermiculite. The Namekara vermiculite mine has a mine life of 100 years at the planned rate of 40,000 tonnes per year.