U.S. equities down in Mar. 7-11 trading week

The annual convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association in Toronto might have ended on a high note with record attendance, but the same could not be said for U.S. equity markets during the Mar. 7-11 trading week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 125.48 points or 1.03% to finish at 12,044.40, while the S&P 500 index tumbled 578.52 points or 4.06% to close at 13,674.25. Even the Philadelphia Gold and Silver index lost ground, slipping 9.05 points or 4.19% to 206.81. Just twelve companies on the New York Stock Exchange reached new 52-week highs, with one falling to a new 52-week low.

The dismal trading results were reflected in the category of value gains, where only one company advanced at or above the US$1 mark. That was Harry Winston Diamond, which jumped US$1 to US$14.16 per share, or 7.6%, on no news. The company plans to release fiscal 2011 fourth-quarter and year-end results on Mar. 22.

The second-largest value gain was Harmony Gold Mining, which rose 37¢ to US$12.47 per share, also on no news. On Mar. 3, Harmony released its latest drill hole result at its Wafi-Golpu porphyry copper-gold project in the province of Morobe in Papua New Guinea, which returned 883 metres of 2.15% copper and 2.23 grams gold per tonne, including 628 metres of 2.82% copper and 3.06 grams gold per tonne. The mineral resource currently for Wafi-Golpu is 16 million ounces of gold and 4.8 million tonnes of copper. In its press release, Harmony noted that the latest intersection “continues to support our exploration target of 30 million ounces of gold and 8 million tonnes of copper.” Harmony holds 50% of the joint-venture project with Newcrest Mining holding the remainder.

Mountain Province Diamonds edged up 15¢ to US$6.21, also on no news. In December, Mountain Province published its technical report on the Gahcho Kue joint-venture diamond project, 300 km northeast of Yellowknife and 80 km southeast of Snap Lake. According to a definitive feasibility study, the project has an 11-year mine life with a 20.7% internal rate of return and a $135.9 million net present value at a 15% discount rate. Excluding sunk costs, the project yields a 33.9% IRR and a $277.4 million NPV. Total life-of-mine capital costs are estimated at $776.5 million. Mountain Province holds 49% of the joint-venture and DeBeers Canada owns 51%.