Trading Summary (January 21, 2002)

The Toronto Stock Exchange picked up where it left off last week dropping another 21.89 points to end Monday’s trading session at 7,582.9on thin volume as U.S. investors took the day off for Martin Luther King junior day. Leading the ten declining subindices on the TSE was the Industrial Products subgroup, which spilled 55.04 points or 1.4%. The golds followed the yellow metal’s lead sliding 11.01 points while the base metal issues shed 9.52 points.

Silver, unchanged at US$4.4125 per oz., was the lone precious metal to escape without a loss in Europe on the day. The base metals, except for higher tin, were lower across the board.

Pure Gold Minerals remained in investors’ sights gaining 2.5 to 26.5 with more than 3.5 million shares on the move. On Friday, Ashton Mining released positive initial micro- and macro-diamond counts from the Artemisia kimberlite, where Pure Gold has about a 10% stake.

Also seeing some trading action was Ivanhoe Mines, which added 29 to finish at $2.85 on a volume of 1.6 million shares. The company posted some positive deep drilling results from the Turquoise Hill copper-gold porphyry discovery in southern Mongolia on Monday.

Among the country’s gold majors, just Kinross Gold managed to see more than 1 million shares change hands gaining 5 to $1.47. Franco-Nevada Mining was next in line gaining a nickel to end at $25.85 on just less than 950,000 shares. Franco will merge with Newmont Mining, the winner of the Normandy Mining bidding, provided its bid goes through.

Putting in nice percentage gains were: Cambior, up 7 or 7.8% to 97; Iamgold, 30 or 6.5% higher at $4.95; Wheaton River Minerals, up a nickel or 6.3% to 85; Hope Bay Gold, plus 2 pennies or 8% to 27; High River Gold, 6 or 7% higher at 90; and Orezone Resources, which grabbed 2 or more than 18% to 13.

Inco, with less than 200,000 shares traded, was the busiest of the sideways-trading base metal miners. Inco’s stock fell a quarter to $26.35. Falconbridge, which will release its fourth quarter financial results on Jan. 30, 2002, fell 15 to $16.25.

Canada’s junior exchange started the trading week off by posting modest gains. The S&P-CDNX Composite Index tacked on 3.58 points, or 0.3% to close at 1098.02.

Marum Resources continued to trade heavily adding 1 to 14 on 2.33 million shares. The junior and partner Shear Minerals have identified 9 priority drill targets on the Birch Mountain diamond project in Alberta.

New Blue Ribbon Resources ended the day unchanged at 10 on 622,00 shares. The junior recently inked a letter of intent to acquire a 90% interest in the 28-sq.-km Lac Joubert diamond property, which is adjacent to the Majescor – BHP joint venture ground in the Otish Mountains region of Northern Quebec

Northern Empire Minerals got a boost from news that it acquired the 615-sq.-km Peregrine diamond property in the Coronation area of Nunavut. Shares in the junior climbed 6 to finish at 83 on a volume of 276,566. The purchase price is tagged at 100,000 shares. The Property is already subject to an option agreement with Diamondex Resources, which has the right to earn a 70% interest by spending $1 million by December 1, 2004.

Inlet Resources ended the day at 11, up 1, on 211,000 shares. The company recently picked up three properties east of Majescor’s Wemindji property in northern Quebec.

Donner Minerals ended the day at its 52-week high, adding 4 to 35 on 397,400 shares. The company recently signed a deal with Falconbridge to jointly explore the South Voisey’s Bay nickel sulphide area of Labrador.