TSX rises, Jan. 24-Jan. 28 trading week

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 120.36 points or 0.58% to 20,741.75 during the January 24 to January 28 trading week. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index fell 3.20 points or 3.02% to 102.89 and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index dropped 4.99 points or 2.69% to 180.41. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index lost 11.85 points or 4.14% to 274.14 and spot gold decreased US$44 per oz. or 2.40% to US$1,791.60 per ounce.

Shares of Trevali Mining were down 32.8% to $1.25. On Jan. 24 the company said it is “continually monitoring” developments in Burkina Faso following a coup in the country, “to determine the extent, if any, to which operations at Perkoa may be impacted and will provide updates as and when appropriate.” Trevali owns 90% of the Perkoa mine. The company also released preliminary production results for 2021. Total production from its operations reached 322 million lb. of payable zinc; 39 million lb. of payable lead; and 902,00o oz. of payable silver. It forecasts consolidated production guidance in 2022 of an estimated 247-280 million lb. of payable zinc, 36-41 million lb. payable lead and 688,000-778,000 oz. of payable silver. The company will report full year financial and operating results on Feb. 25.

Barrick Gold’s shares fell 64¢ to $23.68. The company reported that its North Mara and Bulyanhulu mines, which were moribund gold mines when Barrick took over their management two years ago, delivered a combined production of more than 500,000 oz. gold in 2021, which it says meets its criterion for membership in its Tier 1 portfolio. In addition, Tanzanian nationals now make up 96% of their workforce, with 41% drawn from surrounding villages, Barrick said. The gold major also said both mines are expected to report “a significant growth of their mineral reserves, net of depletion, for 2021.”

NexGen Energy dropped 16¢ to $4.96 per share. The company reported it had completed 18 drill holes in 2021 for a total of 10,849.04 metres, of which 6,400.31 metres targeted electromagnetic conductors that neighbor the one hosting the Arrow deposit and 4,448.73 metres targeted “significantly below” the current Arrow deposit. Highlights included hole AR-21-268, which intersected 8.5 metes of total composite mineralization, including 6.5 metres up to 3,530 counts per second (cps) starting from 1128.5 metres downhole. Hole RK-21-140 at the Camp East Target on the Patterson Corridor, intersected anomalous radioactivity up to 1,380 cps from 166 metres downhole. “The results highlight additional mineralization is present below Arrow that was not previously identified in the resource wireframes,” Grant Greenwood, the company’s VP exploration, stated in news release. “In addition, regional results along the Patterson and Derkson corridors have identified numerous new intersections of radioactivity, brittle structural disruption, and hydrothermal alteration, significantly elevating the prospectivity of those targets for immediate follow up in 2022.”