TSX’s power slide continues

Rising interest rates and inflation worries sent Toronto stocks into convulsions during the Oct. 18-24 report period. The S&P TSX Composite Index yo-yo’d another 192.65 points lower to 10,360.79.

Gold lost US$8.40 per oz. to finish at US$466.10 per oz., and dragged the TSX’s gold index down 6.08 points to 206.12. Likewise, nickel’s descent torpedoed the diversified miners, which sank 13.39 points to 346.14 points. Nickel is off around US$1,520 per tonne in October alone.

Guinor Gold remained atop investors’ minds, with more than 48 million shares changing hands. Crew Gold launched a friendly US$328-million takeover bid for Guinor on Oct. 17. Guinor ended two pennies cheaper at $1.38, while Crew shed 26, settling at $1.46.

Goldcorp jumped onto the scene trading nearly 29 million shares to end 42 higher at $23.03. The company was recently added to the S&P/TSX 60 indexes.

A trading volume of around 24.6 million shares was enough to rank Tahera Diamond as the nation’s third-busiest mining issue. Recent sampling of the Muskox and Anuri kimberlites in Nunavut turned up a large number of diamonds. The largest diamond recovered from Muskox measures 5 mm, while Anuri surrendered a 2.44-mm stone. The issue ended unchanged at 47.

Nearly 11 million shares in Kinross Gold drifted 54 lower to $8.03. The company finally restated its 2003 earnings after a revaluation of the goodwill accounted for in its acquisition of TVX Gold and Echo Bay Mines in 2003. The review turned a US$19.7-million profit into a US$406-million loss.

Falconbridge also remained on investors’ view screens. The shares have seen elevated action since cross-town rival Inco announced a friendly takeover bid on Oct. 11. Subsequent to the end of the report period both companies reported their third quarter earnings; Falco’s net earnings jumped 81% to US$214 million, while Inco’s slipped by 56% to US$62 million. Falconbridge shares lost $1.55 to end at $32.55 and Inco fell $3.57 to $47.98.

SouthernEra Diamond put in the best percentage gain, rising 8, or nearly 23% to 43.

Angola’s Council of Ministers recently issued Camafuca Sociedade Mineira (CSM) a mining licence for the Camafuca project in northwestern Angola. SouthernEra owns an 18% stake in the world’s largest known diamond-bearing kimberlite complex.

Candente Resources jumped 8, or 16% to 57 after the company said that a 13-hole drill campaign had outlined a potential resource of 325 million tonnes of material grading up to 0.65% copper at the Canariaco Norte zone on the Canariaco property in Peru.

Ontex Resources was the biggest loser, sliding 6, or 24% to 19. Pioneer Metals was close behind, dropping a dime, or 20% to 40. Pioneer has asked British Columbia’s Supreme Court to rescind NovaGold Resources‘ option to acquire a 60% stake in the Grace property. Pioneer says NovaGold has failed to make required expenditures on the property. NovaGold says it has exceeded its expenditure requirements, and that Pioneer’s claim is “completely without merit and baseless.” NovaGold dropped 42 to $9.03.