U.S. indexes rise during July 10-14 trading week 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 564.63 points or 1.7% to 34,509.03 and the S&P 500 gained 95.9 points or 2.17% over the week to 4,505.42. 

The week’s top value gainer was Franco–Nevada, which ironically, has not been in the news recently. The company closed Friday US$7.39 per share higher at US$145.93. Franco-Nevada recently secured a further 1.5% net smelter return royalty (NSR) on Marathon Gold’s Valentine project for $45 million in early June. The acquisition lifts its NSR in the project to 3%. The Toronto-based firm has also offered to purchase Marathon’s common shares comprising the entire back end of a $6.9-million non-brokered flow-through offering. A feasibility study on Valentine in December outlined an open pit mining and conventional milling operation with an annual production of 195,000 oz. of gold for 12 years. The total mine life for the project, located in Newfoundland, is 14.3 years. 

Among the top percentage gainers this week was McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) which closed 20.8% higher Friday at US$8.36. On July 13, McEwen Mining reported fresh results from its 52%-owned subsidiary McEwen Copper’s Los Azules project in Argentina. The most significant result was 398 metres grading 0.75% copper (true thickness), and it included a sub-interval of 124 metres at 1.43% copper. The latest drilling program began in October and ended last month and consisted of 15 rigs for some 39,900 metres of drilling in 138 holes. These included some infill holes to test the resource model used in the recently updated preliminary economic assessment, with actual grades turning 9% higher than the model prediction. The next drill phase will start in October and seek to continue increasing geologic certainty and to move the material expected to be mined in the first five years of operation into the measured resource.

Barrick Gold’s U.S. listing was the most-traded gold issuer last week, seeing 80.6 million shares change hands to close US$1.01 higher at US$17.35 per share. Barrick agreed on July. 14 to earn into and form a joint venture on the Neita Norte project in the Dominican Republic held by Toronto-based Unigold. Barrick will be granted an exclusive option to acquire a 60% interest in the Neita Norte exploration concession by spending at least US$2.5 million within the first three years and US$8 million within six years. It will also deliver a preliminary economic assessment and US$12 million within eight years, including a prefeasibility study. Upon earning a 60% interest, Barrick could then elect to sole-fund and deliver a feasibility study by the end of year 12 to increase its ownership in the JV to 80%. The partnership will be subject to standard dilution clauses, which include the criteria that if any partner owns less than 15%, they would be immediately diluted to a 2.5% NSR royalty. Barrick will be the manager and operator of the project.