Trading Summary (January 08, 2003)

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s Gold Index climbed 5.52 points or about 2.8% to make 201.12 on Wednesday. Just two other subindices finished in the black as the S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 79.67 points to 6,723.11. The Diversified Metals & Mining Index was not among that number dropping 1.37 points to 133.89.

Most of the country’s gold issues recovered ground lost on Tuesday. Kinross Gold was the busiest adding 7 to hit $3.74 on a trading volume of just under 12.2 million shares. Placer Dome advanced 70 to $18.38 and Barrick Gold finished 52 higher at $24.47; both saw fewer than 5 million shares traded.

Iamgold rose a penny to $7.61 and Repadre Capital grabbed 22 to reach $12.21 as the two announced the completion of their friendly merger to create a company with a market capitalization of around $1 billion. Under the deal, Repadre shareholders will receive 1.6 shares of Iamgold for each Repadre share, and Repadre Capital becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Iamgold.

Eldorado Gold was one of the few gold issues to put in a loss dropping 8 to $1.95 on more than 4 million shares. The company recently closed a $46-million financing comprising 28.7 million units at $1.60 apiece. Some of the proceeds will go toward development of the Kisladag gold project in Turkey. A feasibility study of the 7.9-million-oz. project is due in March.

Alcan saw nearly 1.9 million shares cross the floor to lose $1.36 to $47.36. The company’s rival U.S. behemoth Alcoa recently posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss citing continued weakness in the manufacturing sector. Alcoa plans 8,000 job cuts and will sell off non-core assets as it continues to cut costs.

Ivanhoe Minerals shed 9 to $3.18 despite reporting that geophysical surveying over the Turquoise Hill copper-gold project in Mongolia indicates that the Southwest, Central and Far North Oyu zones are all part of one mineralizing system.

Tiberon Minerals managed to end a dime higher at $2.55. Drilling by Tiberon at its 70% owned Nui Phao polymetallic property in northern Vietnam has confirmed resources additional to the current resource of 27.1 million tonnes averaging 0.68% tungsten-trioxide-equivalent, or 0.25% tungsten trioxide, 0.25 gram gold per tonne, 0.23% copper, 0.11% bismuth and 8.2% fluorite.

Fording also found a dime to make $33.75. The company is digesting the Sherritt Coal Partnership II’s latest revised $1.8-billion offer, which boosted the cash component to $965 million. The partnership is an alliance of Sherritt International and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Sherritt lost 4 to $4.41. The Sherritt offer expires Jan 23. A vote on Fording’s own three-way plans with Teck Cominco and Westshore Terminals Income Fund is slate for Jan 22. Teck shed 27 to $11.68 and Westshore’s units were off dropped 2 pennies to $4.54.

Gold explorers continued to propel Canada’s junior exchange higher. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index added 9.03 points, or 0.82% and closed at 1,104.40.

Oasis Diamond Exploration continued to be the volume leader, adding 1 to 13 on over 2.1 million shares. Oasis Diamond and Arctic Star Diamond have outlined two priority targets on their Enigma property in Wawa Ontario. Drilling is expected to commence this winter.

ECU Silver Mining gained 1 and closed at 12 with nearly 2.1 million shares traded. The company holds the Valardena property in Mexico. The project has a total resource of 2.5 million tonnes grading 2.8 grams gold and 269 grams silver.

Quaterra Resources popped back onto investors radar screens, gaining 2 to close at 12 on nearly 1.7 million shares. The junior holds the Duke Island copper-nickel-platinum-palladium prospect in southeast Alaska where a number of high priority targets have been identified.

Making a nice percentage move, Pacific Minerals tacked on 50 to close at $2.20 on 639,289 shares. The junior reported that Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines has elected to exercise its right of first refusal to participate on Pacific’s Dandong Gold Project and three Copper – Silver projects in North and South Yunnan province and Guizhou province in China.