Trading Summary (May 07, 2003)

Profit takers sent the Toronto Stock Exchange south to the tune of 43.12 points to 6,650.59 on Wednesday. The golds led the slide retreating 4.06 points, or 2.5% of value, to 158.82. The base metal brethren dropped 0.88 of a point to hit 120.16.

Placer Dome dropped 49 to $14.45 on just more than 3.9 million shares to rank as the nation’s busiest mining issue. Barrick Gold was close behind, edging up 11 to $22.45 on nearly 3.6 million shares. Kinross Gold rounded out the major producers club with a 29 fall to $9.25 on the backs of about 3.5 million shares.

Barrick has budgeted up to US$500 million for a share buyback program aimed at propping up its faltering share price. The world’s third-largest gold producer plans to buy up to 35 million, or 7% of its of its public float during the yearlong program. Barrick has also declared a dividend of US11 per share, payable on June 16 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 30.

Other gold stocks to see more than a million shares traded were: Glamis Gold, of $1 at $15.56; Wheaton River Minerals, unchanged at $1.29; and Eldorado Gold, a penny cheaper at $2.19.

Glamis’ first quarter profit rang in at US$$1.9 million, (or 2 a share), off from a year ago thanks to higher costs at the San Martin mine in Honduras and increased exploration spending. Eldorado recovered from a year-ago first-quarter loss to post 2003 first-quarter net profits of US$2.6 million (or 1 a share) on revenue of US$9.2 million. The improvement is thanks to improved gold production at the Sao Bento mine in Brazil.

Ivanhoe Mines led a quiet bunch of base metal miners, ending 4 higher at $3.19 on nearly 1.1 million shares. Also on the plus side were: Noranda, up 3 to $12.31; Teck Cominco‘s B series, which added the same to make $10.73, and LionOre Mining International, 8 richer at $5.48.

Canada’s junior exchange managed to trade back in the black with investors gobbling up select resource issues. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index gained 5.25 points, or 0.5% and closed at 1,060.99.

Shares in Canico soared on the junior’s latest results from the Onca Puma nickel laterite project in Brazil. Canico closed at $7.40, up $1.10 on 494,760 shares. A number of holes in the silica cap area ran greater than 2% nickel over greater than 5 metres. Highlights include hole 3324, which returned 2.54% nickel over 19 metres and hole 3338, which yielded 3.44% nickel over 7.5 metres. An analyst tour of the property is slated for the beginning of June.

American Bonanza Gold Mining gave back a penny of yesterday’s 3 move, closing at 26 on 529,150 shares traded. Investors bid up shares following news that the junior hit high-gold grades in the southern portion of the D-zone on the Copperstone project in Arizona. A total of 42 channel samples were collected from face and rib exposures during the mining of eight rounds covering 80 linear feet. The samples returned values of up to 11.5 oz gold per ton and average 1.2 oz gold.

Diadem Resources added 1 to close at 9 on over 723,100 shares. Earlier this year, the junior announced that it would review of its corporate structure, as well as all of its mineral projects. The company expects the review to result in the disposition, joint venturing or abandonment of a number of the existing projects.