TSX climbs during May 24-27 week

The abbreviated May 24-27 trading week saw the TSX Composite Index gain 145 points to close at 13,797.59. The lift came as the Bank of Canada contemplated interest-rate hikes, while the U.S. dollar fell on lower-than-expected U.S. consumer spending and housing data during the week.

The yellow metal gained US$23 to end up US$1,536.50 per oz., which helped the Global Gold Index rise 14 points to 389.62, however, the Capped Metals & Mining Index did not fare as well as it slumped 12 points to 1,417.56.

The week’s biggest percentage gainer was Grandview Gold, surging 33% to 8¢ per share, on news it signed a diamond drill contract for a 10-hole drill program at its 16-sq.-km Dixie Lake gold property in Ontario’s Red Lake district. The program will focus on validating and expanding the historic resources, and is expected to start in mid-June. Dixie Lake has a non-compliant resource of 1.1 million tons grading 0.1 oz. gold per ton.

Trailing close behind, Kimber Resources gained 31% to close at $1.64 per share on news of high-grade intercepts from its ongoing drill program at the Carmen gold-silver deposit at its Monterde property in Mexico. The best hole out of the eight released returned 5.2 metres of 51.9 grams gold per tonne and 1,076.7 grams silver per tonne, including 1.3 metres of 188.5 grams gold and 3,700 grams silver from the Hilos structure within the deposit.

Uranium miner UEX Corp also saw its shares jump 31% to $1.18, however, on no news. The latest news that the miner did release was in early May, where it said a drill result from its joint-venture Shea Creek project with Areva Resources Canada in northern Saskatchewan, expanded the mineralization at the Kianna deposit. The hole intersected 25.1 metres grading 1.28% uranium oxide.

Potash miners took the two top spots for the week’s biggest value gainer. Agrium advanced $6.61 to $84.46 on news that it reached a binding agreement to buy International Mineral Technologies (Tetra Micronutrients), a company that specializes in the producing, marketing, and selling custom liquid plant nutrition and dry micro nutrient products. The transaction is expected to close by mid-July.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan added $4.11 to close at $54.69. On May 24, the miner released a second quarter market analysis report, underlining how recent growth in potash consumption has come mostly from developing countries that are starting to tackle the need for balanced soil nutrition to boost yields. For an instance, in 2010 more than 60% of the world potash export went to China, India, other Asian countries, and Latin America. The company estimates global demand to increase to 55-60 million tonnes for 2011, while global operational capability to be about 61 million tonnes.

A day later, PotashCorp announced a $500,000 cash donation to support relief efforts in Joplin, Missouri after a tornado hit the small community on May 22, where the company owns and operates a feed phosphate operation.

With 135 million shares traded, Equinox Minerals had the highest trading volume. The attention, however, led to its shares dropping 47¢ to $7.60, on no news. However, on May 20, the company filed an updated technical report for its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia.