TSX rises, April 13-17: Agnico, Barrick, Wheaton, Amerigo, B2Gold

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 1.37%, or 193.30 points, to finish the April 13-17  trading week at 14,359.90. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index rose 3.92% to 77.47, while the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index increased 0.34% to 73.34. Spot gold finished at US$1,686.50 per oz., a gain of 0.05%, and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index climbed 6.11% to 306.28.

Shares of Agnico Eagle Mines were up $7.04 to $75.55. The gold producer said on April 14 that it was taking steps to resume its operations in the Abitibi region of Quebec – the LaRonde Complex, Goldex mine and Canadian Malartic – “in an orderly fashion while ensuring the safety of employees.” Agnico’s decision followed an announcement by the Government of Quebec on April 13 that it has added mining operations to the list of priority activities and services that are permitted to operate while the province responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barrick Gold‘s shares gained $2.92 to $34.40. The company reported preliminary first-quarter production of 1.25 million oz. gold and 115 million lb. copper and preliminary sales of 1.22 million oz. gold and 110 million lb. copper. Complete results will be released on May 6. President and CEO Mark Bristow said the results positioned the company well to achieve its guidance for the year, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also announced investments and earn-in agreements with two juniors – Precipitate Gold and Golden Minerals. Precipitate is advancing its Pueblo Grande project in the Dominican Republic, and Golden Minerals is developing its El Quevar project in Argentina.

Wheaton Precious Metals climbed $3.45 to $48.16. The precious metals streaming company announced on April 16 that it had established an at-the-market equity program that allows it to issue up to US$300 million (or the equivalent in Canadian dollars) common shares from its treasury to the public. The company said it intends to use any net proceeds from the program for funding precious metals purchase agreements and for corporate purposes, including to repay debt.

Amerigo Resources jumped 53.8% to 30¢ per share. The company announced first-quarter production results of 12.1 million lb. copper at a cash cost of US$1.87 per lb., and 0.2 million lb. molybdenum. It also reported that it had not experienced production interruptions or disruptions to its supply chain due to COVID-19. Amerigo produces copper concentrate at its MVC operation in Chile by processing fresh and historic tailings from Codelco’s El Teniente mine, the world’s largest underground copper mine.

B2Gold was the most heavily traded stock of the week and its shares rose 37¢ to $6.13. The company reported that an employee at its Fekola exploration camp, 5 km from its Fekola mine in southwestern Mali, had tested positive for COVID-19. Because the infected employee worked at the exploration camp and not at the mine, the mine continued to operate at full capacity. The company isolated the entire exploration group within the exploration camp and completed contact tracing. The employee was in stable condition with moderate symptoms.