The first trading week of the New Year saw the Dow Jones industrial average edge up 97.25 points to 11,674.76 while the S&P 500 index rose 13.86 points to 1,271.50. The Nasdaq composite was up 50.3 points to 2,703.17. Twenty-seven miners on U.S. exchanges reached new 52-week highs with none sinking to new 52-week lows.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan topped the list of value gains jumping US$12.09 per share to close the period at US$166.92, on no news. The potash giant will release fourth quarter and year-end earnings on Jan. 27.
Colder temperatures and devastating floods in Queensland continue to wreak havoc on the coal industry in Australia, pushing up the shares of many coal producers with operations in North America. Central Appalachian coal producer Alpha Natural Resources claimed the week’s second-highest value gain with an advance of US$5.22 per share to US$65.25. Patriot Coal, with mining operations in Appalachia and the Illinois basin, claimed the third spot with an increase of US$3.82 to US$23.19. Massey Energy rose US$2.46 to US$56.11, despite news on Jan. 5 of a 1.4-million-ton shortfall in fourth quarter coal shipments largely due to lower than anticipated production, inconsistent rail service and delays of export shipments at the ports. Consol Energy, the largest producer of high-BTU bituminous coal in the United States, gained US$2.16 to US$50.90.
With rising demand from China supporting iron ore prices, Cliffs Natural Resources performed well, climbing US$3.32 to US$81.33 per share. Reuters reported that China’s iron ore imports in December 2010 increased 1.2% over November to 58.08 million tonnes, the highest increase in nine months. “Chinese steel mills, the biggest buyers of the world’s iron ore, have been replenishing stocks of the steelmaking raw material ahead of the Lunar New Year in February, with stronger steel prices also supporting the buying binge,” the news agency reported on Jan. 10.
On the negative side of the ledger, the Philadelphia Gold and Silver index fell 15.28 points or 6.7% to 211.30 and many precious metals companies sank with it. Agnico-Eagle Mines dropped US$6.27 to US$70.43, while Silver Wheaton fell US$5.53 to US$33.51.
U.S. most active issues
VOLUME WEEK
(000s) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE
Alcoa* AA 238159 16.72 15.78 16.42 + 1.03
Hecla Mining* HL 80008 11.56 9.70 10.02 – 1.24
Silver Wheatn* SLW 73019 40.00 32.87 33.51 – 5.53
Rare Elemt Re* REE 58180 17.92 13.56 14.70 – 1.36
Barrick Gold* ABX 56058 53.93 48.69 49.10 – 4.08
Freeport McMo* FCX 52613 122.50 115.05 117.47 – 2.62
Intl Coal Gp* ICO 51366 8.92 7.66 8.59 + 0.85
Newmont Mng* NEM 47162 62.21 56.38 56.89 – 4.54
Mosaic* MOS 35324 78.68 73.40 76.29 – 0.07
Kinross Gold* KGC 34666 19.26 17.30 17.52 – 1.44
U.S. greatest percentage change
VOLUME WEEK
(000s) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE
Commerce Grp* CGCO 101 0.06 0.02 0.03 + 50.0
Infrastrc Mat* IFAM 61 0.25 0.23 0.23 + 27.7
Vista Gold* VGZ 7512 3.33 2.39 2.99 + 25.1
El Capitan Pr* ECPN 1478 0.85 0.62 0.85 + 25.0
Yellowcake Mg* YCKM 508 0.08 0.05 0.05 + 25.0
Habanero Res* HBNRF 200 0.11 0.10 0.11 + 22.2
Constittn Mng* CMIN 1947 0.18 0.15 0.17 + 21.4
Patriot Coal* PCX 8563 23.36 19.68 23.19 + 19.7
Gold Am Mng* SILA 2175 0.37 0.28 0.32 + 18.5
SinoCoking Cl* SCOK 6369 13.95 11.21 13.88 + 15.9
Silver Dragon* SDRG 1555 0.15 0.09 0.09 – 30.7
Global Gold* GBGD 183 0.24 0.16 0.19 – 24.0
Crosshair E&M* CXZ 724 2.65 1.95 2.00 – 20.6
Tri-Valley* TIV 6525 0.62 0.45 0.46 – 19.3
New Jersey Mg* NJMC 60 0.30 0.27 0.27 – 18.1
Linux Gold* LNXGF 576 0.06 0.04 0.05 – 16.6
Shoshone Silv* SHSH 159 0.20 0.14 0.16 – 15.7
Minco Gold* MGH 2928 2.91 2.27 2.31 – 15.3
Cardero Res* CDY 3015 2.36 1.79 1.95 – 15.2
Alexco Res* AXU 3711 8.48 6.79 6.98 – 14.7
U.S. greatest value change
WEEK
VOLUME CLOSE CHANGE
Potash C Sas
k* POT 28174731 166.92 + 12.09
Alpha Nat Res* ANR 22393425 65.25 + 5.22
Patriot Coal* PCX 8563440 23.19 + 3.82
Cliffs Nat Rs* CLF 22172966 81.33 + 3.32
Mechel* MTL 4771761 32.34 + 3.11
Alliance Rs P* ARLP 530296 68.83 + 3.07
Massey Energy* MEE 25657002 56.11 + 2.46
Consol Energy* CNX 21855258 50.90 + 2.16
SinoCoking Cl* SCOK 6369118 13.88 + 1.91
Natural Rs Pt* NRP 336893 35.04 + 1.84
Agnico-Eagle* AEM 17813409 70.43 – 6.27
Silver Wheatn* SLW 73018839 33.51 – 5.53
Royal Gold* RGLD 3033971 49.92 – 4.60
Newmont Mng* NEM 47161843 56.89 – 4.54
BHP Billi-BHP* BHP 12462998 88.42 – 4.50
Pan Am Silver* PAAS 8763872 36.79 – 4.42
AngloGold Ash* AU 14330407 44.82 – 4.41
ASA (Bermuda)* ASA 535283 30.41 – 4.31
Barrick Gold* ABX 56057994 49.10 – 4.08
Silver Std Re* SSRI 6471842 24.34 – 3.88
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