TSX falls during June 27-July 1 trading week

Over the June 27 to July 1 trading period, markets continued their downward trend, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index falling 201.55 points or 1.06% to 18,861.36; the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index dropping 4.4 points or 4.6% to 95.06; and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index retreating 6.65 points or 4.3% to 153.14. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index fell 18.54 points or 7.07% to 262.16 and spot gold ended the week down 0.46%, or US$8.45 per oz. lower, at US$1,817 per ounce.  

Shares of NioCorp Developments rose 10¢ or 12.5% to 90¢ during the trading week as the company issued 4.9 million shares for $4.8 million. Earnings from the private placement will be used to advance the company’s Elk Creek project. During the trading week, NioCorp also filed a technical report for the project’s feasibility study. According to the study, the Nebraska-based project contains about 632,900 tonnes of rare earth oxides (REO), which the firm said is the second largest indicated rare earth resource in the U.S. The project also contains niobium, scandium, and titanium. Whether or not NioCorp will produce separated rare earths as a byproduct will depend upon metallurgical testing on REE recovery rates, which will be begin soon, the company said.  

Steppe Gold managed a gain during the week despite the drop in the gold price, as its shares rose 10¢ or 9.7% to $1.13. The Mongolia-based miner said that it expected to produce about 10,400 oz. gold in the second quarter, a number that’s likely to increase to about 15,000 oz. in the third quarter as the company confirmed new supplies of reagents and consumables allowing it build stockpiles at site. “This in turn allows us to be more aggressive on leaching strategy, with more cells under active leach, allowing for acceleration of monthly production rates through the balance of 2022,” the company said.  

Shares of Ascot Resources rose 7¢ or 16.3% to 50¢ as the company provided an update on the advancement of its Premier gold project in British Columbia. It said that the construction of the $146.6-million project had “significantly advanced” including work in and around the mill building, the new water treatment plant clarifier foundation and the tailings storage facility. It also said that it was confident it will secure a financial package needed to complete construction. The company has been seeking financing since April, when it announced it was unable to satisfy drawdown conditions for the remaining $US60 million of an US$80-million senior credit facility with Sprott Private Resource Lending. Aside from construction, exploration at the project’s emerging Sebakwe zone has revealed the occurrence of “significant amount of coarse, visible gold in a number of holes,” the company’s CEO Derek White said in a press release.