U.S. equities march higher, Jan. 20-23

U.S. stocks snapped a three-week losing streak to close the abbreviated trading week higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 161.03 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 17,672.60, while the S&P 500 Index moved up 32.4 points, or 1.6%, to 2,051.82. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index slipped 1.5% to 78.33, despite the spot gold price advancing US$13.80 per oz. to US$1,294.10. 

General Moly shares jumped 23% to US58¢. The junior announced an agreement with POS-Minerals, which owns 20% of its Mt. Hope molybdenum project in Nevada, to use up to US$36 million of restricted cash in a reserve account to maintain Mt. Hope until it arranges full project financing. The cash should keep the project in its construction-ready state until at least 2020. 

Tasman Metals rose 13.5% to US42¢ after releasing highlights from a prefeasibility study on its Norra Karr heavy rare earth elements project in Sweden. With start-up costs of US$378 million, the project has a 20% after-tax internal rate of return and a US$313-million after-tax net present value, using a 10% discount. Payback should occur within five years. Over a 20-year life, Norra Karr could produce 200 tonnes of dysprosium oxide per year, and has a 60-year unconstrained mine life. The study estimates 74% of the project’s revenues will come from magnet metals: dysprosium, neodymium, terbium, praseodymium and samarium. 

Alamos Gold shares plunged 26%, or US$2.14, to end at US$6.04 on the back of disappointing 2014 results. The company produced 140,500 oz. gold from its Mulatos gold mine in Sonora, Mexico, missing the low end of its full-year guidance of 150,000 oz. It expects total cash costs to be within the target range of US$700 to US$740 per oz. Alamos forecasts 2015 output of 150,000 to 170,000 oz. at total cash costs of US$865 per oz., compared to 160,000 oz. at US$702 per oz., which analysts had expected. Desjardins analyst Michael Parkin has downgraded the stock to a “hold” from a “buy,” and is reviewing his target price.