Trading Summary (August 09, 2001)

The gold and precious minerals subindex stole the show on the Toronto Stock Exchange, shooting up 222.04 points, or 4.8%, to 4,828.68 Thursday. The base metal issues put in the next best percentage gain, riding 1.1%, or 42.72 points, as a group. Overall, the TSE 300 composite index rose 41.14 points to end at 7,695.3.

Gold shot up US$5.10 per oz. in New York to end at US$273.30 per oz. on the back of the Federal Reserve’s bleak outlook on the U.S economy. Also on the rise were palladium, up US$10 to US$444 per oz., and silver, which added US6 to hit US$4.21 per oz. Platinum fell US$5 to US$431 per oz. The base metals were little changed in Europe.

The country’s gold miners were led by Barrick Gold, which gained $1.28, or 5.5%, to $24.68 on more than 2 million shares. Others putting in nice percentage gains included: Kinross Gold, up 13, or 10.6%, to $1.36; Cambior, a nickel, or 8%, higher at 65; Placer Dome, up $1.06, or 6.7%, to $16.90; and Meridian Gold, which rose 75, or 5.4%, to $14.70. Among the few losers were: TVX Gold, off a penny to 57; Hope Bay Gold, which fell a penny to 32; and McWatters Mining, down 2 to 14.

McWatters posted a second-quarter net loss of $832,000 (2 per share) on revenue of $9.4 million, compared with a year-ago net loss of $1.6 million (3 per share) on revenues of $16.5 million. For the first half of 2001, the company’s net loss more than tripled to $3.8 million from a year earlier.

The base metal issues were less active. Teck’s B series was in front with nearly 1.7 million shares on the go. The issues slipped a dime to $11.40. Alcan rose 90 to $54.10 on just less than 900,000 shares and Inco gained 20 to $24.75 on a few less shares. The biggest percentage gainer was Boliden, which climbed 3, or 10%, to 33. Sherritt International lost 15 to $5 after posting lower second-quarter earnings of $15 million (or 10 per share), down $31.9 million (24 per share) a year earlier, thanks to lower metal prices.

It was another slow trading day on Canada’s junior exchange with only 29 million shares changing hands. The Canadian Venture Exchange lost 3.64 points, or 0.1%, to finish the day at 3,083.97. The Mining Index slumped 46.46 points, or 0.6%, to close at 7,439.08.

Canabrava Diamond topped the most actively traded chart with nearly 3.8 million shares changing hands. Although no new developments were announced, shares in the junior climbed 4 to 21. The company is exploring for diamonds in Brazil and in Ontario.

Stock in the New Bullet Group soared 11 to 20 on 270,000 shares. The company is reportedly eyeing two projects in Brazil.

Masuparia Gold climbed 2 to 8 on 834,500 shares. The junior recently closed a deal to earn a 51% stake in the Greywacke and Dickens Lake gold properties north of La Ronge, Sask.

Shares in Poplar Resources continued to trade near 52-week highs, climbing 1 to 28 on a volume of 271,000 shares. The junior is seeking a $1-million financing to advance its Bottenbacken palladium-copper project and the Sundsvall diamond property, both of which are in Sweden.

Idaho Consolidated Metals plunged 13 following the release of the assay results from its latest round of drilling on the Stillwater platinum-palladium property in Montana. None of the seven holes yielded significant values. Stock in the company ended the day at 57 on 142,000 shares.

Shares in Radius Exploration jumped 3 to 98 on a volume of 133,384. Stock in the Simon Ridgway-led junior drifted down from a high of $1.25 per share following the results from the first four holes into the Lupita target on the Tambor gold property in Guatemala.