Dow Jones and S&P 500 move higher, Oct. 29-Nov. 2

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.36% to 25,270.83 and the S&P 500 Index increased 2.42% to 2,723.06. New York spot gold fell US60¢ to finish at US$1,232.20 per oz., with London Metal Exchange zinc down 3.5% to US$1.18 per lb., nickel off 2.9% at US$5.32 per lb., and copper sliding 2.4% to US$2.77 per pound.

Third-quarter results pushed Intrepid Potash shares up 20.8% to US$4 per share. The company reported net income of US$3.4 million, or US3¢ per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to a US$1.9-million net loss for third-quarter 2017, or US2¢ per share. Cash flow from operations totalled US$14.8 million — a year-on-year increase of US$12.2 million. The company’s water business delivered a record US$9.7 million in cash during the quarter. Intrepid is raising its previous 2018 water guidance to up to US$35 million in cash.

Shares of Turquoise Hill Resources rose 16.8% to US$1.95. The company updated its copper production guidance for the year for its Oyu Tolgoi open-pit mine in Mongolia from between 125,000 and 155,000 tonnes copper-in-concentrate to between 140,000 and 155,000 tonnes copper-in-concentrate. The company’s guidance for gold-in-concentrate is the same, at between 240,000 and 280,000 oz. gold. Turquoise Hill also updated its guidance for 2018 operating cash costs, from US$700 million to US$800 million. Nearly half of the increase owes to higher freight and royalty costs from higher sales revenue and lower costs, capitalized as deferred stripping, after mining resources prioritized ore movement during the year. Oyu Tolgoi produced 39,400 tonnes copper during the third quarter — up 6.8%, compared with the year-earlier quarter — with higher grades and recoveries partly offset by lower throughput. The mine produced 77,000 oz. gold for a 148% year-on-year increase. All-in sustaining costs came in at US$2.29 per lb. copper produced, down 17% from third-quarter 2017.

Lithium Americas’ shares gained 15% to US$4.15, after a deal with China’s Ganfeng Lithium and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM). Ganfeng Lithium has acquired SQM’s 37.5% stake in the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Argentina. Lithium Americas owns the other 62.5%. Ganfeng has loaned Lithium Americas US$100-million to fully fund its share of capex for the project.