Trading Summary (March 21, 2002)

Toronto stocks drifted lower on a profit warning from BCE and weak earnings from oil companies on Thursday. By day’s end, the TSE 300 composite index was off 59.24 points finishing at 7,856.2. Just one of the TSE’s fourteen subindices managed to end in the black, and just barely. The industrial products subindex edged up 7.8 points to 3,457.99. The golds shed 7.69 points to end at 5,857.93. The base metal issues lost another 50.47 points to 4,670.14.

TVI Pacific was the busiest mining issue surging 2.5 or 62.5% to 6.5 with about 4.2 million shares on the go. On Tuesday, the company announced a joint venture with Huayu Geological and Mineral Prospecting Company of inner Inner Mongolia that will allow TVI to explore for minerals and contract its drilling services to companies throughout China. TVI will contribute its fleet hydraulic core drilling equipment to the joint venture and Huayu will chip in its Bayungshangheshan exploration license, which covers an intrusive-hosted, bulk-tonnage gold property currently the subject of small-scale mining.

Kinross Gold, up 11 to $1.83 on 2.5 million shares, was the only other miner to rank among the TSE top ten most traded. Kinross has extended its cash tender offer of $16 per share for Kinam’s $3.75 Series B Convertible preferred shares not already owned by Kinross until midnight on March 28, 2002. So far, about 652,000 of the 1.84 million shares of Kinam preferred stock have been tendered to the offer.

Goldcorp found 81 to make $25.90. On Thursday, the company announced that of the 59.7% of issued and outstanding shares represented at a special resolution vote, 99.7% voted in favour of a 2-for-1 share split. The shares are expected to start trading on a split basis next month.

Inco was the most traded base metal miner with just more than 938,000 shares on the go. The issues lost 37 to $30.71. Alcan fell 74 to $63.04 with about 683,000 shares changing hands. Breakwater Resources put in the best percentage gain climbing 2 or about 5% to 44.

The S&P-CDNX Composite Index rebounded adding 3.6 points to close 1,156.7. International Taurus Resources was the volume leader on the Canadian Venture Exchange. The issue slipped a penny to 6 with 780,500 shares traded. The company is partnered with Fairstar Explorations at the Fenelon gold project in northwestern Quebec. Int’l Taurus has a 66.67% stake in the project, Fairstar holds the remaining 33.33%.

AntOro Resources remained on investors’ view screens dropping 3 to 32 on 556,916 shares. On Monday, AntOro, based in Montreal, completed a private placement of 1.12 million flow-through shares and 280,000 common treasury shares at a nickel each with two non-related investors. The $70,000 in proceeds are earmarked for exploration on its Montalembert and Wapiscan/Riviere-des-peupliers properties in early May, 2002.

Samex Mining was unchanged at 31 on a volume of 492,000 shares. The company recently closed a private placement financing of 2 million units consisting of one common share and one warrant, with each unit priced at 15.