Trading Summary (November 05, 2001)

News of a US$1.1billion, four-year supply and services deal with the local phone division of US-based network carrier Sprint sent shares of Nortel Network up 65 or nearly 7% on about 11 million shares. The news spurred the Toronto Stock Exchange on to a gain of 55.33 points to end at 7,079.3 points on Monday. Also buoying the market is an expected half-point interest rate cut by U.S. Federal Reserve. By day’s end, only four of the TSE’s subindices were in the red.

Geomaque Exploration grabbed top spot among the nation’s mining stocks with a trading volume of about 5.5 million. The issue climbed 1 or 15.4% to 7.5. Geomaque recently reached an agreement with its creditors to convert debt owed into shares. Orvana Minerals was close behind soaring 5 or 83% (the TSE’s biggest percentage gainer on the day) to 11 on more than 5.4 million shares. The company recently inked a definitive agreement with Bolivia’s largest mining company. Under the deal, Compania Minera del Sur (Comsur) would receive 53 million Orvana shares in return for US$4 million and the financing of Orvana’s purchase, from Comsur, of a gold mill and equipment valued at a total of US$8 million. Comsur also agreed to lend Orvana US$6 million to buy mining equipment and develop the open-pit and underground operations at the Don Mario gold-silver-copper project in eastern Bolivia.

Most of the country’s gold miner suffered losses to begin the week. Barrick Gold dropped 56 to $25.02 on 1.2 million shares; Placer Dome fell 31 to $18.44 on half that volume. Most of the others saw similar results. Kinross Gold fell 2 to $1.35, TVX Gold shed a penny to 65, Cambior lost 1 to 72 and Franco-Nevada Mining dropped 37 to $22.69. Overall, the TSE’s Gold & Precious Minerals subindex lost 79.07 points or 1.5% to settle at 5,088.91 points.

Inco saw more than 1.1 million shares cross the floor to rise 14 to $22.24. Others heading north were Falconbridge, up 31 to $14.55; Sherritt International, a nickel higher at $4.28; Noranda, which gained 55 to $14.10; Alcan, plus 45 to $50.35; and up-and-down Breakwater Resources regained a penny to 16. Sherritt said on Monday that Hurricane Michelle, which has been hammering the Caribbean for the past few days, did not damage its nickel operations in Cuba.

On the minus-side were: Teck Cominco, off a quarter to $11.25; Aur Resources, 7 lower at $2.53 and Boliden, which lost a penny to 26. Overall, the Metals & Minerals subindex gained 40.99 points to 3,711.91 points.

A triple-digit loss in the Oil & Gas Index led Canada’s junior exchange lower. The Canadian Venture Exchange ended the day down 24.76 points, or 0.8% to finish the day at 2,972.35. The Mining Index dropped 42.32 points, or 0.6% to close at 7,629.99.

Starfield Resources bounced back after last week’s sell-off gaining 1 to close at 49 on 322,885 shares. The company announced that hole 104 cut a new zone of high-grade palladium platinum mineralization. Collared 500 metres east of hole 101, which, as previously reported, cut a 0.35-metre-thick zone, 15 metres above the massive sulphides, yielding 103 grams palladium and 26.7 grams platinum per tonne at a down-hole depth of 962.3 metres, the latest hole cut the massive sulphide horizon returning 1.24% copper, 0.94% nickel, 0.09% cobalt, 2.27 grams palladium an 0.3 gram platinum over 8.8 metres from 843.6 metres down-hole. A little over 100-metres below this intercept, the low sulphide zone was encountered yielding 9.9 grams palladium, 1.44 grams platinum over 0.5 metres.

Investors continued to bail out of Muskox Minerals following news that the proposed joint venture with London-based Lonmin had been terminated. Shares in the junior ended the day down 3, at 33 on a volume of 139,864.

Leader Mining International continued its strong run, adding 14 to close at $1.84 on 306,000 shares. The junior has been busy tying up ground near Hope, BC. The Harrison Lake property covers an ultramafic belt that extends over 60 km northwest from the B.C. Nickel mine, which mined and milled a reported 4.2 million tonnes grading 1.19% nickel and 0.46% copper.

The latest assay results from the Gold Mountain zone on the Kena property near Nelson, BC pushed shares of Sultan Minerals lower. The junior fell 8 to end the day at 31 on 241,000 shares. The assay results from three new holes showed broad low-grade gold mineralization associated with a porphyry on the property. Drilling continues.

Northern Dynasty Minerals lost 15 to end the day at 60 on 89,000 shares. The Hunter-Dickinson-led junior recently inked a deal to pick up the Pebble copper-gold porphyry property in Alaska.