Trading Summary (August 27, 2002)

A US$2.90-per.-oz. rise in the price of gold to US$312.40 in New York sent Toronto gold stocks soaring on Tuesday. The TSX’s gold index left the competition in the dust rising 7.09 points or 4.2% to 176.68 points. The diversified metals & mining index dropped 0.1 of a point to hit 122.58 points. The gold index’s surge wasn’t enough to keep the S&P/TSX Composite Index out of the red; it finished off 55.1 points at 6,642.83 points.

Placer Dome was the TSX’s most traded gold issue advancing 61 to $14.96 on a handful fewer than 5 million shares. Barrick Gold, up 70 to $24.32, and Kinross Gold, plus 22 to $2.93 fell in line behind placer.

Making noise in the lower ranks were: Wheaton River Minerals, up a dime to $$1.17; Echo Bay Gold Mines, plus 8 to $1.48; and Bema Gold, 11 richer at $1.93. On Tuesday, Bema posted second-quarter net income of US$4 million (or 2 per share) on revenue of US$7.5 million, compared with a year-ago loss of US$2.2 million (a penny per share) on US$7.1 million. The recent quarter’s results benefited from a US$3.9-million gain on an arbitration settlement and US$2.8 million from the reversal of a notes receivable provision. The quarter’s gold production hit 30,294 oz., up from 22,726 oz.

Alcan remained the most active base metal miner tacking on 26 to make $44.85 with just more than 1.4 million shares on the move. Most of the others put in more modest gains. Inco grabbed a dime to reach $29.96 on a volume of about 1.15 million shares.

SouthernEra Resources shot up 50 or 8.8% to $6.20 after releasing results of a positive bankable feasibility study for the second phase of mining at the Messina PGM mine in South Africa. Headed the other way was marine diamond miner Namibian Minerals, off 3 pennies or 13% at 20. Namco posted a second-quarter loss of US$24.9 million (or 25 per share), compared with a year-ago loss of US$12.9 million (17 per share). More than half the loss is attributed to a US$15.7-million impairment provision relating to goodwill.

Canada’s junior bourse had a quiet session with the TSX Venture Exchange composite index gaining 5.50 points, or 0.5%, to close the day at 1014.33.

Bishop Resources gave back a penny of yesterday’s 4 gain to close at 6 on 383,000 shares. The company recently reversed plans to change business venues and to remain as a resource exploration and development company aimed at advancing the 935-acre Gordon Lake gold property, 50 miles northeast of Yellowknife.

The market continued to ignore the results from the first two holes drilled into the western side of the Rietfontaine property in South Africa, as shares in Anooraq Resources lost 1 to close at 85 on a volume of 137,000. Privately owned African Minerals cut up to 19.6 metres grading 0.19% nickel, 0.15% copper and 0.63 gram platinum-palladium-gold.

ECU Silver Mining ended the session flat at a nickel and traded 165,075 shares. The company recently inked a deal with Trustyard Capital for a private placement of $300,000. ECU Silver owns the Velardena silver mine in central Mexico which has a resource of 2.4 million tonnes grading 269 grams silver and 2.80 grams gold per tonne.