TSX up, Sept. 28-Oct. 2

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.83% to 16,199.25 during the Sept. 28-Oct. 2 trading week. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index increased 0.14% to 96.25, and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index climbed 0.78% to 103.67. Spot gold jumped US$37.60 per oz., or 2.02%, to US$1,898.80 per oz., and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index rose 0.78% to 361.57.  

Agnico Eagle Mines rose $1.36 to $105.99 per share. The company has formed a 50-50 joint venture (JV) with Newmont to explore the Anza gold project and to seek other prospective gold targets of district-scale potential in Colombia. Anza comprises exploration contracts and applications totalling about 200 sq. km in the Mid-Cauca belt, 50 km west of Medellin and 60 km south of Zijin Mining’s Buritica operation. In 2018, Newmont reached an exploration agreement with Orosur Mining, in which it was granted the right to earn up to a 75% stake in the Anza project. Under the agreement with Newmont, Agnico will solely fund the JV until it equals Newmont’s previous investment of around $2.9 million in Anza, after which the parties will continue funding exploration activities on a 50-50 basis.  

Kinross Gold’s shares rose 12¢ to $11.84. The company said it plans to strengthen its medium-term production and cash flow profile with the US$93.7 million acquisition of the Peak gold project in Alaska, 400 km southeast of its Fort Knox mine. The open-pit project, which is expected to start production in 2024, will be a “low-risk ‘tuck in’” to leverage the company’s existing mill and infrastructure at its Fort Knox operation, Kinross said, and is forecast to produce a total of 1 million oz. gold-equivalent over four and a half years at mining grades of 6 grams per tonne. The company intends to blend the project’s higher-grade ore with the lower grade ore at Fort Knox to reduce its average life-of-mine all-in sustaining costs by about US$70 per gold-equivalent ounce. The project is owned by Royal Alaska LLC (40%), a subsidiary of Royal Gold, and Core Alaska (60%), a subsidiary of Contango. 

Shares of Victoria Gold fell 53¢ to $14.69. The company closed a previously announced bought deal secondary offering of common shares with Orion Mine Finance and a syndicate of underwriters. The offering consisted of 3.38 million common shares at a price of $17 per common share for gross proceeds of $57.52 million. 

Lundin Mining‘s shares dropped 29¢, finishing the trading week at $7.41 per share. The company reported on Sept. 27 that a power outage at its Chapada copper and gold mine in Brazil had damaged all four of the operation’s SAG and ball mill motors. In an update on Sept. 29, Lundin said that it expects to resume partial processing within one week, with a return to full capacity within 60 days. Operations were also suspended at is Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal following a fatality at the mine on Sept. 25.