Trading Summary (June 21, 2001)

The Toronto Stock Exchange finally pulled out of its slide, tacking on 31.25 points to end Thursday at 7,706.9. Nortel Networks, which had largely been the cause of the TSE’s recent plight, firmed a bit on the day, gaining 65, or 5.3%, to $12.95. The gold issues were not as fortunate, continuing their recent slide and falling another 77.42 points to 4,664.61. The base metal stocks managed to gain 16.11 points to end at 4,389.95.

Kinross Gold remained in investors’ sights with nearly 4.4 million shares changing hands. The stock lost another 8, or 6.3%, to $1.19. Another active gold issue was Eldorado Gold, which fell a nickel, or 13.5%, to 32 with about 2.6 million shares crossing the floor.

Drilling by Kinross recently increased the size of Goose Lake, the largest of six gold deposits that comprise the George Lake project in Nunavut. The company can earn a 70% interest in the project for $20 million over four years. More than $3 million has been spent so far. Eldorado recently tabled a positive prefeasibility study for its wholly owned Kisladag gold project in western Turkey.

Other active gold stocks included Barrick Gold, down 9 to $24.70 on just less than 2 million shares, Placer Dome, 52 lower at $15.40 with 1.25 million shares traded, and diversified miner Teck’s B series, down 55 to $13.25 on 1.5 million shares.

Sherritt International lost 4 to $16.90 on about 2 million shares, making it the most active base metal issue. Inco, off 13 to $26.20, Cominco, 99 lower at $29.50, and Alcan, $1.02 higher at $62.67, all saw more than 1 million shares on the go.

Swedish-Canadian miner Boliden gained a penny to 57. The company has announced that its lenders have approved a previously proposed refinancing and restructuring.

Canada’s junior exchange managed to end its recent losing streak with only the Technology Index giving ground. The Canadian Venture Exchange closed virtually unchanged, up 1.16 points at 3,242.66. The Mining Index gained 49.39 points, or 0.7%, to close at 7,315.69.

North American Tungsten moved higher, ending the day up 8 to 68 on 193,000 shares. The company is trying to raise $6 million to re-open the Can Tung tungsten mine in Canada’s far north.

Latitude Minerals lost a penny to close at 2 on 548,000 shares. The Spokane-based junior holds a number of properties in Alaska, Nevada, Idaho. It recently picked up a platinum-palladium property in Washington state.

Radius Explorations lost ground for the second straight day, dropping 3 to 91 on a moderate 65,000 shares. The company is gearing up to drill-test the El Tambor gold property in Guatemala. South African-based Gold Fields recently agreed to purchase 1.9 million units of Radius at a price of $1.05 each.

New Blue Ribbon Resources popped back on to investors’ radar screens, ending the day unchanged at 11 on 221,300 shares. The junior’s joint venture partner, BHP Diamonds, is gearing up for a second round of drilling on the Moose diamond project in Manitoba. The first round tested seven anomalies, but failed to yield any kimberlites.

Philex Gold held on to the $2 mark, ending the day unchanged on 73,000 shares. The company’s joint-venture partner, Anglo American, is drilling the Boyongan copper-gold prospect in the Philippines.