TSX closes higher during June 12-16 trading week

Over the June 12-16 trading period, the S&P/ TSX Composite Index inched 83.31 points or 0.42% higher, to 19,975.37. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index gained 2.26 points or 2.1% to 109.68 and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index gained 7.21 points or 3.89% to 188.01. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index fell by 02.38 points or 0.82% to 286.73 and spot gold ended the week US$9.45 per oz. higher, or 0.48%, at US$1.969.75 per ounce.

The week’s top gainer in value terms was First Quantum Minerals which saw its shares close $3.56 higher on Friday at $33.23 after global number-two gold miner Barrick Gold made an informal takeover offer to acquire the company, according to a Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources. Bloomberg’s June 15 report suggests Barrick made overtures to First Quantum in the last few months as part of its search for ways to expand in copper, two people said. First Quantum indicated it wasn’t keen on a combination and declined to enter any substantive talks, according to the report. Canada’s First Quantum has long been viewed as a takeover target in the mining industry, primarily for its massive copper mine in Panama. The operation, which accounts for about 1.5% of global copper production, recently emerged from a monthslong dispute with the Panamanian government.

Avalon Advanced Materials was among the week’s top percentage gainers, which closed 50% higher at 15¢ per share on Friday. Last week, Avalon signed a $63 million joint venture arrangement with SCR-Sibelco of Belgium to come aboard as a development partner. The Belgium-based global manufacturer advanced some financing to assist with the property acquisition. The provincial government will likely come aboard as a funder given the Ford government’s economic priority on creating a domestic supply chain to feed the EV battery plants in southern Ontario. If they successfully construct the plant, they might be the first mid-stream lithium processor in Ontario and possibly Canada.

The week also saw higher share turnover for B2Gold, which saw 20 million shares change hands to close 32¢ higher at $4.77 per share. B2Gold has been adding to its landholdings in Canada’s Far North, most recently increasing its holding in Snowline Gold to 9.9% via an on-market transaction. Snowline Gold is a Yukon Territory-focused gold exploration company with a project portfolio covering more than 280,000 hectares. The flagship, district-scale Rogue project hosts the Valley discovery, a bulk-tonnage, reduced intrusion-related gold system with geological similarities to multi-million-ounce deposits currently in production, such as Kinross’s Fort Knox Mine in Alaska and Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine in the Yukon.