US stocks end lower, May 25-29

Uncertainty over Greece’s debt talks and a first-quarter contraction in the U.S. economy pushed stock indexes lower. Markets closed for the Memorial Day holiday, but when they reopened, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2% to 18,010.68, while the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.9% to 2,107.39, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4% to 5,070.03. In May the Dow gained 1%, the S&P500 was up 1.1% and the Nasdaq advanced 2.6%. The gold price fell US$15.90, or 1.3%, to finish at US$1,190 per oz., and the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index lost 2.2% to close at 69.70.

Stillwater Mining posted the largest gain, rising US63¢ to US$14.49 per share after the company reached a labour agreement with the United Steel Workers (USW) International Union at the Stillwater mine and Columbus processing facility. The union’s negotiating committee and a representative for USW International had unanimously recommended ratification of the tentative agreement. The company says it is the largest primary producer of platinum group metals outside South Africa and the Russian Federation.

Uranium Energy advanced US29¢ to US$2.99 per share. The company announced mid-week that its Palangana in-situ recovery (ISR) mine is permitted for extraction in new resource areas, with a larger mine permit and aquifer exemption. The expanded mine area boundary is now 35.3 sq. km versus the previous 25.1 sq. km, and includes Production Area-4, where 296 drill holes have delineated three mineralized trends. The company also received a disposal-well draft permit for its development-stage Burke Hollow ISR project — a key pre-extraction permit. Uranium Energy also reported receiving a signed resolution, moving the company’s Yuty ISR project beyond the exploration phase. Yuty is the third mining project to reach exploitation since the  2007 Paraguayan mining law.

Shares of Barrick Gold fell US38¢ to US$11.86. The gold miner unveiled a partnership with China’s Zijin Mining, which will pay Barrick US$298 million cash for a 50% stake in Barrick subsidiary, Barrick (Niugini) Ltd., which owns 95% of the Porgera joint-venture gold mine in Papua New Guinea.