Toronto Stock Exchange December 12-18

The report period ended Dec. 18. saw a surge in trading that pushed the S&P-TSX Composite Index above 13,000 for the first time ever on Dec. 14, but ending the period down 92.98 points at 12,785.20.

To suit a beefed-up list that now includes non-Canadian gold companies not traded in Canada, the S&P-TSX Capped Gold Index was renamed the S&P-TSX Global Gold Index on Dec. 18. The list was increased to 30 gold mining companies from 18 and now includes the world’s second, third and fourth-biggest gold producers: Denver, Colo.-based Newmont Mining, South Africa-based AngloGold Ashanti and South Africa-based Gold Fields. The world’s biggest gold miner, Toronto-based Barrick Gold and the third-largest producer by market capitalization, Vancouver-based Goldcorp are among the 22 companies headquartered in Canada that remain on the list. Two companies dropped from the index were Southwestern Resources and Jim Sinclair’s Tanzanian Royalty Exploration.

The week’s most-active stock was J.C. Potvin’s Tiomin Resources, which saw more than 36 million shares trade hands before closing down half a cent at 14.5. On Dec. 12, Tiomin reported that construction of its Kwale mineral sands project in Kenya would be delayed until the Kenyan government “resolves all land-related issues, provides access to the project site and fulfills remaining conditions” required by various contractual arrangements. However, at presstime, Tiomin shares were up 24% on news that the Kenyan courts had ruled in favour of Tiomin and the Kenyan government and had dismissed all petitions from the seven farmers who are opposed to the government-approved compensation agreement for the acquisition of their land.

The week’s top percentage gainer was Toronto-based Orvana Minerals. With its flagship Don Mario mine in Bolivia reporting record production of 80,028 oz. gold for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Orvana enjoyed record profits of US$15.7 million (US14 per share) on revenue of US$44.9 million for the year, up from US$8.9 million and US$29.4 million, respectively, the previous year.

In other breaking news, Tiberon Minerals reported that a major shareholder, private-equity firm Dragon Capital Management, was bidding $251 million, or $3.65 per share, for the 87.8% of the company it didn’t already own. Dragon Capital plans to go forward with Tiberon’s development plans for the substantial Nui Phao tungsten-fluospar deposit in Vietnam.

Ascendant Copper was the biggest percentage loser, down 30% to 51, as it continued to battle with anti-mining NGOs. The company has two issues at play at its Junin copper project in Ecuador: the approval of its environmental impact statement for exploration at Junin; and its efforts to conduct non-mining related agricultural activities on surface properties that are legally owned by the company.

TSX greatest percentage change

			VOLUME(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Orvana Mnrls	ORV	2532	0.84	0.57	0.79	+36.2
HMZ Metals	HMZ	2354	0.07	0.045	0.065	+30.0
Western Goldfd	WGI	4591	2.75	1.89	2.48	+27.1
Global Alumina	GLA.U	5299	1.15	0.83	1.09	+23.8
Carpathian Gld	CPN	1378	0.79	0.58	0.74	+23.3
Anatolia Minls	ANO	4266	4.56	3.51	4.30	+17.8
SouthernEra wt	SDM.WT	48	0.09	0.06	0.07	+16.6
Khan Res wt	KRI.WT	11	1.76	1.30	1.76	+16.5
Corona Gold	CRG	170	0.53	0.44	0.51	+15.9
YGC Res	YGC	495	2.60	2.20	2.60	+15.5
Ascendant Copp	ACX	111	0.73	0.51	0.51	-30.1
Tiomin Res	TIO	36322	0.165	0.12	0.145	-25.6
QGX	QGX	1025	2.42	1.75	1.85	-24.4
Brazilian Diam	BDY	169	0.26	0.20	0.20	-23.0
Gateway Gold	GTQ	447	0.96	0.75	0.75	–	1.8
Pure Gld Mnr	PUG	832	0.42	0.31	0.33	-21.4
Ascendant C wt	ACX.WT	21	0.125	0.12	0.12	-20.0
Eurasia Gold	EGX	92	1.16	1.05	1.05	-19.2
Pac Rim Mining	PMU	3317	1.42	1.06	1.10	-19.1
Eastern Pla wt	ELR.WT	29	0.75	0.61	0.61	-18.6

TSX greatest value change

		VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Cameco Corp	CCO	11546037	46.01	+1.51
Teck Comin B	TCK.B	8926843	90.02	+1.15
Major Drilling	MDI	237094	26.55	+1.15
Teck Comin A	TCK.A	10974	92.20	+1.00
Katanga Mng	KAT	3227068	7.30	+0.95
Royal Gold	RGL	14447	38.85	+0.74
Moto Gold Mine	MGL	1288239	7.84	+0.73
CIC Energy	ELC	625025	12.70	+0.72
HudBay Minls	HBM	14317822	22.15	+0.71
Anatolia Minls	ANO	4265792	4.30	+0.65
Potash Cp Sask	POT	1196213	155.98	-5.02
Agnico-Eag wt*	AEM.WT.U	30665	22.55	-2.25
Meridian Gold	MNG	2135534	32.07	-2.11
Goldcorp	G	20469608	31.74	-2.05
Alcan	AL	7008429	55.79	-1.96
Silver Std Res	SSO	590589	34.31	-1.84
Agnico-Eagle	AEM	4609481	46.95	-1.76
Aur Res	AUR	4760770	24.40	-1.64
Aber Diamond	ABZ	1614498	41.57	-1.63
Inmet Mining	IMN	1287190	63.99	-1.51

TSX most active issues

		VOLUME(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Tiomin Res	TIO	36322	0.165	0.12	0.145	-0.05
Equinox Minls	EQN	28668	2.29	1.94	2.09	-0.01
Bema Gold	BGO	23612	6.17	5.69	5.76	-0.40
Northgate Mnls	NGX	22457	3.66	3.48	3.60	+0.06
Goldcorp	G	20470	33.98	31.65	31.74	-2.05
Eldorado Gold	ELD	19547	6.63	5.82	5.84	-0.78
Kinross Gold	K	17953	14.33	13.26	13.33	-0. 96
Paladin Res	PDN	17665	6.95	6.05	6.89	+0.49
Breakwater Res	BWR	17618	2.13	1.93	1.97	+0.02
HudBay Minls	HBM	14318	24.50	21.45	22.15	+0.71