The Toronto Stock Exchange’s gold index jumped 5.21 points, or 2.7%, to 201.46 during the June 16-22 report period. Not surprisingly, the price of gold rose US$10.50 to an afternoon fix of US$395.75 per oz. in New York on June 22. The rest of the precious metals followed suit.
The diversified miners shook off a mixed performance by the base metals to end 6.17 points higher at 229.15. Overall, the S&P-TSX composite index ended 89.99 points higher at 8,517.86.
Wheaton River Minerals outpaced rival Golden Star Resources, gaining 31, or 5.8%, to $3.97. Both companies boosted resource estimates at their respective operations in Argentina and Ghana in an attempt to woo Iamgold shareholders before they vote on which merger plan to accept on June 29. Golden Star finished 24 higher at $6.50. For their part, Iamgold shares rose 33 to $7.60. In related news, Coeur d’Alene Mines recently boosted the cash portion of its bid for Wheaton by $285 million, to bring the minimum cash value to $1 per share. In all Coeur’s offer values Wheaton’s shares at about $5 apiece.
Canada’s uranium issues soared as the spot price broke through US$18 per lb., representing a near 80% increase over the past 12 months.
Explorer UEX jumped 17, or 25%, to 84. The company recently inked a deal to earn a 25% interest in the Beatty River uranium project in northern Saskatchewan from Japan-Canada Uranium Co. by spending $865,000 on exploration by the end of 2008. Cogema currently owns 50.7% of the project, with JCU holding the balance. The property is home to the 10-km-long Anne Lake conductive trend, where limited drilling has returned up to 873 parts per million U3O8 and 500 ppm nickel, plus anomalous copper, vanadium, and molybdenum.
In other uranium news, Cameco, the world’s biggest uranium producer, and partners State-owned Areva and German-based RWE Nukem amended a 1999 deal to allow the purchase of uranium from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons at fixed prices until 2013. Cameco also priced the initial public offering for its gold vehicle, Centerra Gold, at $15.50 per share. Cameco ended $2.35 to the good at $77.20.
Among the other uranium issues, Southern Cross Resources led the way with a 22, or 25%, increase to $1.10, International Uranium climbed 40 to $2.68, and Pioneer Metals added 6 to hit 85.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan returned some of its early gains but managed to end $8.95 richer at $125.90. The world’s largest fertilizer company recently increased its second-quarter earnings forecast, thanks to higher-than-expected potash and nitrogen prices and volumes. It now expects to earn more than $1 per share instead of the previous estimate of 70-90.
Noranda remained a volume leader with more than 21 million shares winding their way 26 lower to $23.80. The major has confirmed it is reviewing several expressions of interest in the company. Most media reports tip Brazil’s Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), the world’s largest iron miner, as the most interested; CVRD says it has nothing to report.
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