Trading Summary (May 06, 2002)

The gold sector turned in another strong day on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with the TSE gold index rising 3.01% to 203.19 points, powered by gold prices that edged above US$312 per oz. in late-afternoon trading.

While the broader TSE index declined a full percentage to 7,581.05 points, Canada’s gold majors all advanced: Barrick Gold was up 70 to $33.65; Placer Dome rose 52 to $19.97; Kinross Gold jumped a quarter to $3.09; Cambior rocketed 26 to $2.44; and the TSE’s volume leader, TVX Gold, eased up 3 to $1.38.

Among the mid-tier producers, Glamis Gold soared 34 to $10.68 as the Reno, Nev.-based company turned in solid first-quarter earnings of US$3.8 million (US4 per share) on revenues of US$18.2 million.

The biggest news of the day among the base metal miners was LionOre Mining International‘s US$75.9-million, all-cash deal to buy Anglo American‘s nickel interests in Botswana. The move will vault LionOre into the ranks of the world’s top ten nickel producers.

The TSE’s largest percentage gainer was TVI Pacific, which exploded 46% to 9.5 on 3.8 million shares traded. The Calgary-based junior announced last week that it had acquired interests in several adjoining gold properties in the heart of the Shuikoushan polymetallic district, situated 150 km south of Changsha City in China’s souhtern Hunan province.

Despite solid gains by most junior gold explorers, Canada’s junior exchange started the trading week off by losing ground. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index dropped 8.15 points, or 0.7%, to close at 1,156.21 points.

Seabridge Resources added 25 to close at $1.64 on a heavy 1.68 million shares. The junior has acquired a number of advanced gold projects over the past few years, most recently the Red Mountain project in northern British Columbia. The junior also plans on changing its name to Seabridge Gold.

National Gold continued to move higher, adding 4 to close at 46 on 286,000 shares. The company’s joint venture partner Alamos Minerals is drilling the Salamandra gold property in Mexico.

ECU Silver continued to trade heavily, losing 1 to close at 5 on 561,000 shares. The company recently inked a deal with a subsidiary of Hecla Mining, to explore and do small-scale mining on a high grade gold and silver deposit on the San Sebastian property in Durango state, Mexico.

Andean American Mining added 22 to close at $1.51 on 358,755 shares. The company has reached full production at its Santa Rosa test pilot mining project in Peru.