U.S. Markets fall during June 27-July 1 trading week

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 403.42 points or 1.2% to 31,097.26 and the S&P 500 fell 86.4 points or 2.25% over the week to 3,825.33.    

Shares of Mosaic Company rose by US62¢ or 1.3% to US$47.23 as the company reported higher potash sales and revenue in May compared to April. It sold about 744,000 tonnes of potash in May, compared to 692,000 tonnes in the previous month. Its revenue from potash also increased to US$539 million in May compared to US$438 million in April and US$246 million in May 2021. Its sale of phosphates, however, decreased to 462,000 tonnes from 553,000 tonnes in May last year and 497,000 tonnes in April. The revenue from phosphate was pegged at US$502 million, down from US$524 million in the previous month and and higher than US$327 million in May 2021.  

“A compressed North American planting season and ongoing rail delays are impacting sales volumes,” the company said. “We now expect potash sales volumes of 2.3-2.5 million tonnes and phosphates sales volumes of 1.6-1.8 million tonnes in the second quarter.”   

Shares of Gatos Silver fell 13.6% to $2.87 as the company provided its bi-weekly default status report during the trading week. The company, which is yet to file its annual report for 2021 and its quarterly report for 2022, said it believes that it will be able to file them in the second half of 2022. “The company is also evaluating the material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting related to the mineral reserve reporting errors,” it said. Following its announcement in January that it made errors in a 2020 technical report for its Los Gatos project in Mexico that resulted in an overestimation in resources,  the company is focused on producing a new life-of-mine plan and updating its mineral resources and reserves . The delay is due to the “ongoing analysis” by the company of any potential impacts the reduction may have on its audited annual financial statements, it said in a press release. 

A number of companies saw their share value decrease as the price of gold hit its lowest in a month during the week. Kinross Gold, which said that it was on track to release the initial mineral resource estimate for its much-talked about Great Bear project in Ontario towards the end of 2022, saw its share value decline by 10.5% to US$3.58. Shares of Iamgold witnessed a 14.4%  fall in value to US$1.61 per share. Franco-Nevada, the world’s leading gold-focused royalty company, saw its share value decrease by US$6.89 to US$131.58. In a similar vein, shares of Eldorado Gold and First Majestic Silver fell 10.1% and 10.4%, respectively, to US$6.39 and US$7.18.