Trading Summary (November 07, 2001)

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada said Canada’s economic growth this year would at best be 1.5%, well off last year’s 4.7%. Investors shrugged of the widely expected gloomy outlook and the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index climbed as high as 7,200 points in the early afternoon; later it retreated to end the day at 7,147.3 points, up just 1.84 points from its previous close. Leading the eight advancing subindices was the Communications & Media subgroup, which rose 220.62 points to 15,306.24 points.

The golds put in a decent performance gaining 80.52 points or 1.6% to 5,183.79 points. Barrick Gold gained 58 to $25.65 on more than 1.7 million shares to lead the country’s gold majors. Placer Dome added 38 to hit $18.88 with about 671,159 shares traded. The remaining gold majors were mixed: Franco-Nevada Mining fell 21 to $22.79; Kinross Gold found 3 to reach $1.38; TVX Gold slid 1 to 64; and Cambior was unchanged at 75.

Making some noise in the lower ranks were: Glamis gold, up 20 to $5.38; Hope Bay Gold , which climbed a penny to 20 and Novagold Resources, up 7 to $1.90. On Wednesday, Novagold reported more high-grade drill results from the Acma and 400 zones on the Donlin Creek deposit in southwestern Alaska.

The base metal producers were mixed in quiet trading. Noranda lost 15 to $13.85; Falconbridge shed a dime to $14.60; and Aur Resources lost a nickel to $2.55. Noranda said on Wednesday that it will spend up to $16 million to reduce sulphur dioxide and particulate emissions from its Horne copper smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.

On the plus-side were: Inco, up 50 to $22.85; Teck Cominco’s B series gained 24 to $11.09; and Alcan edged up 27 to $52.12. Breakwater Resources climbed 1.5 to 17.5. Breakwater recently announced plans to close its money-losing Nanisivik zinc mine in Nunavut ahead of schedule next September.

Late day buying propelled Canada’s junior exchange higher. The Canadian Venture Exchange gained 28.61 points, or 1% to finish the day at 2,985.50. The Mining Index tacked on 30.19 points, or 0.4%, to close at 7,609.37.

Classic Gold Resources ended the day at 28, up 3 on 680,500 shares. The company terminated its option on the Columbia coal mine in Utah, electing to focus on platinum properties in Ontario. To fund the search, a private placement of 250,000 flow-through special warrants at a price of $0.25 each has been concluded.

Seahawk Minerals ended the day unchanged at 10 on 489,900 shares. The junior has been actively advancing the Piteiras emerald project in Brazil.

Shares in Sultan Minerals rebounded from the recent sell-off following the release of the latest assay results from the Gold Mountain zone on the Kena property near Nelson, BC. The junior ended the session up 4 to 35 on 228,370 shares. The drill rig continues to test a large geochemical anomaly on the project.

Andean American Mining lost 4 to 36 on 160,000 shares. The company announced plans to expand its Santa Rosa pilot plant in southern Peru to treat 3,250 tonnes of gold-bearing ore per day.

Leader Mining International continued to climb to new 52-week highs, adding 3 to close at $2.01 on 111,020 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.