TSX closes nearly flat Mar. 24 after week of mixed signals

Stocks ended the Mar. 20-24 trading period with a modest gain as investors weighed the impact of the banking crisis in the United States while central banks appeared near the end of their interest rate hikes to calm inflation.  

The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 113.77 points or 0.6% to 19,501.49. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index increased 2.12 points or 2% to 110.21, and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index gained 4.87 points or 2.8% to 181.91. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index rose 8.01 points or 2.7% to 306.23, and spot gold ended the week at US$31.70 per oz. higher, or 0.05%, at US$1,993.80 per ounce. 

First Quantum Minerals was one of the stronger gainers by value during the period, adding $2.29 per share to close at $28.35. The miner said Mar. 17 it planned to redeem US$400 million in bonds a year early.  

The move can be seen as a sign of financial strength just weeks after it said it had agreed with the government of Panama to keep the Cobre Panama copper mine operating following months of negotiations over taxes, labour and the environment.  

Torex Gold Resources added $1.93 during the period to close at $22.24 per share.  

The Toronto-based miner said Mar. 23 that its drill hole ML22-924D at the EPO deposit in Guerrero, Mexico cut 4.3 metres grading 99.5 grams gold per tonne from 664.1 metres depth for one of the top gold assays of the week globally.  

EPO lies north of the Media Luna deposit on the company’s Morelos property. Torex plans to start commercial production at Media Luna late next year. 

“These drill results continue to demonstrate the underlying resource potential of the Morelos property and reinforce our positive outlook on our ability to complement future production from Media Luna,” Jody Kuzenko, president and CEO, said in the release. 

Media Luna’s annual output over an 11.75-year mine life is expected to be 280,000 oz. of gold, 34.8 million lb. of copper and 1.3 million oz. of silver. The company forecast its total gold production this year at 470,000 ounces. 

First Majestic Silver lost 11% to close at $8.98 after it said Mar. 20 it was suspending operations and trimming staff at its Jerritt Canyon gold mine in Nevada.  

The operation, which includes a processing plant, an open pit mine and an underground mine, has been hampered by severe cold weather, inflation and lower-than-expected grades. The combination helped knock the company’s fourth-quarter production to 7.6 million oz. of silver-equivalent, a 14% drop compared with a year earlier. 

Jerritt Canyon will continue to process some 45,000 tonnes of stockpiled ore during the downtime that may last a couple of months, the company said. The site had been expected to produce between 119,000-133,000 oz. of gold this year.