Trading Summary (January 23, 2002)

A 3.4% gain by the base metal issues helped offset weakness in the golds and consumer products on Wednesday. By day’s end the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index gained 39.21 points ending at 7,598.5. The Metals & Minerals subindex led the ten advancing subindices adding 142.23 points. The golds slipped 158.25 points or 2.9%.

Gold continued its slide ending the down US$3.20 at US$278.30 per oz. in New York. The other precious metals fell in line. Silver dropped US3 to US$4.25; platinum shed US$9 to US$473 per oz.; and palladium lost US$14 to US$380 per oz. The base metals were higher across the board in Europe.

Pure Gold Minerals remained busy falling 6 to 24 with nearly 2.6 million shares traded. On Wednesday, the company announced plans to raise $2 million via an equity financing. Proceeds are earmarked for corporate activities and ongoing diamond exploration in Quebec, Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

Barrick Gold followed the yellow metal’s lead dropping 90 to $26.12 on just more than 2.5 million shares. Placer Dome fell 62 to $18.58; Franco-Nevada Mining slipped 75 to $25.40. Kinross Gold managed to escape unchanged at $1.40.

Alcan was the busiest base metal miner climbing $2.45 to $59.25. On Wednesday, January 23, 2002 brokerage house Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the world’s number 2 aluminum producer to "strong buy" from intermediate-term "neutral". Merrill says the company is set to rebound after earnings have bottomed out.

Inco gained 64 to $27.46 on about 1.9 million shares and Teck Cominco’s B series added 55 to hit $13.85 to round out the top three base metal issues.

On Wednesday, Teck Cominco finally rolled out a bankable feasibility study for the San Nicolas copper-zinc deposit in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas. Western Copper Holdings, which has a 21% stake in the project, shot up 7 or more than 12% to 65.

Canada’s junior exchange drifted lower on modest volume. The S&P-CDNX Composite Index dropped 1.72 points, or 0.2% to close at 1092.71 points.

Seabridge Resources managed to gain 4 to close at 50 on 634,600 shares. The junior has been acquiring a number of gold properties with proven resources over the past two years. In its latest deal, the company picked up the Quartz Mountain project in Lake County, Oregon.

Shares in Mandorin Goldfields bounced off the floor gaining 2 to close at 3 on a volume of 496,500. The company has a joint venture with a subsidiary of London-based Lonmin on and around the Tafuna Hill area in the Shamva district of Zimbabwe.

Profit taking hit shares of Donner Minerals. The junior lost 4 to close at 31 on 327,000 shares. The company recently signed a deal with Falconbridge to jointly explore the South Voisey’s Bay nickel sulphide area of Labrador.

Inlet Resources ended the day at 9, down 2, on 244,000 shares. The company recently picked up three properties east of Majescor’s Wemindji property in northern Quebec.

Starfield Resources surged to a new 52-week high adding 1 to 79 on 236,810 shares. The junior is gearing up to resume drilling on its Ferguson Lake nickel-cobalt-platinum-palladium-copper project in Nunavut.