Trading Summary (October 26, 2001)

Bargain hunters helped the Toronto Stock Exchange to a 61.21-point gain to end the week at 7,004.9 points on Friday. The Oil & Gas subgroup led advancers with a 2.8% rise to 9,282.07 points. The Consumer Products subindex gained 300.92 points or 1.8%. In all five of the TSE’s fourteen subindices ended in the black. The Metal & Minerals subindex again barely made that group gaining 18.93 points to 43,737.27 points. The gold issues slid 3.07 points to end at 4,879.38 points.

Palladium and platinum continued to rebound in New York. Palladium regained US$22 per oz. to US$340 per oz., and platinum tacked on US$9 per oz. to hit US$428 per oz. Gold edged up US20 to US$277.10. Silver was unaltered at US$4.20 per oz. All of the base metals, except lower aluminum alloy, made modest gains on the London Metal Exchange.

Kinross Gold stood atop the most active miners list with about 1.7 million shares traded. The stock lost 2 to $1.30. Next closest was Placer Dome, which gained 16 to $16.99 on more than 1.3 million shares.

Among the others, Barrick Gold lost 40 to $24.90, TVX Gold dropped a penny to 67, Franco-Nevada Mining climbed 42 to $21.85 and Cambior gained 3 to 83.

On Thursday, royalty company Franco-Nevada posted earnings of $30.2 million (or 19 per share) for the three months ended Sept. 30. A year earlier, earnings were $22.3 million (14 per share). Revenue between the two periods rose 7% to $45.2 million.

On Friday, Cambior reported a third-quarter net loss of US$8.5 million (or 9 per share) on revenue of US$48.4 million, compared with year-ago net earnings of US$10.5 million (14 per share) on US$51.8 million. The recent loss includes a US$8.2-million unrealized loss on derivative instruments.

Aur Resources led the country’s base metal issues in trading volume with just less than 610,000 shares on the go. The stock gained 23 or nearly 10% on sharply higher third-quarter earnings of US$7 million, (or 8 per share), up from US$1.9 million, (2 per share) a year earlier. Revenues jumped to US$52 million from US$19.5 million.

Others making more modest gains were Inco, up 64 to $23.40, Sherritt International, 4 higher at $4.24, Alcan, up 15 at $51.95 and Boliden, which gained a penny to 26. Zinc-miner Breakwater Resources slid a penny or 5% to 19.

Canada’s junior exchange ended the week in fine form led by impressive gains in mining-related issues. The Canadian Venture Exchange ended the day up 19.84 points, or 0.7% to finish the day at 2,965.15. The Mining Index surged 108.82 points, or 1.5% to close at 7,537.15.

Rubicon Minerals lost 1 to close at 35 on 718,000 shares. The junior is in the midst of raising $1.2 million to finance further drilling on its Red Lake gold properties in Ontario.

Starfield Resources fell victim to some profit taking following a nice move higher earlier this week. Investors appear to be speculating that the company will find further indications of the high-grade, platinum-palladium zone cut in hole 101, which returned 103 grams palladium and 27 grams platinum over 0.35 metre. Shares in the junior lost 3 to close at 60 on a volume of 542,900.

International Wayside Gold Mines tacked on 1 to close at 14 on 215,459 shares. The Frank Callaghan-led company recently closed a $750,000 financing and is currently drilling on its Cariboo gold property near Quesnel, BC.

Excellon Resources gained 3 on news that the company has closed a $1-million, non-brokered private placement of 8.5% one-year convertible debentures. The funds will be used on the Platosa-Saltillera massive sulphide project in northwestern Durango state, Mexico. The junior, which is currently in the middle of a 3,000-metre drill program on the property, ended the week at 35 on 401,000 shares.