Trading Summary (December 17, 2001)

News of a multi-billion dollar takeover in the financial sector helped pumped a quiet Toronto Stock Exchange up 89.72 points to 7,515.4 on Monday. Investors sent Clarica Life Insurance shares up $1.30 to $52.25 with about 3.5 million shares traded. On Monday, Sun Life Financial Services of Canada announced plans to buy its rival via a $7.3-billion, all-stock takeover. For its part, Sun Life’s stock slipped $1.12 to $33.65 with about 4.4 million shares traded.

NovaGold Resources saw even more action than that falling 20 or 10.3% to $1.75 on just less than 5 million shares. Recent drill results from NovaGold suggest the presence of a small but high-grade deposit within the larger resource at its Donlin Creek deposit 480 km west of Anchorage, Alaska.

Also making the TSE’s top ten traded list was Barrick Gold, which gained a quarter to $25.50. Rumours are swirling that the gold miner will enter the fray in the fight over Australia’s Normandy Mining since it has completed its merger with Homestake Mining. Normandy’s shares fell a nickel to $14.40.

Placer Dome, off 38 to $17.12 on 1.1 million shares was the next busiest among the remaining gold miners. Kinross Gold slid 3 pennies to $1.09; TVX Gold lost 1 to 64; Cambior gained the same to 72; and Franco-Nevada Mining rose 28 to $22.98. Overall, the TSE’s Gold & Precious Minerals subindex shed 32.35 points to end at 5,026.89.

Making noise in the junior ranks were Viceroy Resources, up 1.5 or 21% to 8.5; Dayton Mining gained 7 or 19% to 44.

Alcan was the most active base metal major rising 52 to $57.27 on the backs of about 650,000 shares. Similar modest gains were seen by: Inco, up 66 to $25.51; Falconbridge, 30 2 higher at $15.60; Noranda plus a dime to $14.50; and Teck Cominco, which gained 13 to $12.40.

Canada’s junior exchange started the week off by posting losses amid very light volume. The S&P-CDNX Composite Index ended the session down 10.76 points, or 1.1% to close at 979.17.

Shares in Cantex Mine Development got a boost on news that a single drill hole testing the West Greenland joint venture property cut a narrow zone of polymetallic mineralization. The hole cut sulphides over a 4-metre interval with a 7-cm section running 2.6% copper, 0.7% nickel, 0.1% cobalt, 0.57 gram platinum and 0.13 gram palladium per tonne. Cantex ended the day at 7, up 2 on 196,000 shares.

Poplar Resource lost 2 to close at 9 on 424,000 shares. The latest batch of assay results from an ongoing drill program over its Bottenbacken polymetallic property in Sweden failed to excite investors. Three of four holes drilled into the Central zone returned low-grade copper, platinum, palladium, and gold values.

Muskox Minerals dropped 4 to end the day at 20 on 96,672 shares. The company recently tabled an aggressive exploration program for next year at the platinum-palladium-bearing Muskox layered intrusive complex in Nunavut.

Francisco Gold added 14 to end the day at $6.90 on light trading. The cash-rich company awarded the engineering and consulting work for the El Sauzal gold project in Mexico.