Trading Summary (April 27, 2001)

The Toronto Stock Exchange was little changed on April 27, with the main TSE 300 index lifting a paltry 7.02 points to close at 7,967.34. The strongest gainers were the golds, which were up 60.37 to close at 4,744.68, a gain of 1.3% on the day.

They were helped by a slight rally in the gold price, which was up US95 to US$264.45 per oz. in the morning in London. The rally didn’t have legs, though, and the yellow metal was back to US$263.80 by the end of New York trading.

Barrick Gold added 53 to finish at $25.87 and Placer Dome was up 22 at $15.82. Mid-tier producers got the most juice out of the rally, with Echo Bay Mines up 9 at $1.27, Glamis Gold 19 higher at $3.34 and Meridian Gold rising 38 to close at $12.78.

The metals and minerals group added 2.72 points to finish at 4,753.07, coming near the pace of the broad market.

The big mover among the integrated mines was Cominco, which rose $1.40 on the day to $32.25. The company declared a 15 dividend for shareholders of record in mid-June.

Another big gainer was Sherritt International, which was up 18 to close at $4.63. Its pursuit of the Luscar Coal Fund looks set to succeed, with Luscar management now agreeing to a sweetened Sherritt offer of $4 cash or a share-for-share trade.

Canada’s junior exchange staged yet another end-of-the-week rally. The Canadian Ventures Exchange surged 29.06 points, or 1%, to finish the day at 3,055.90. The Mining Index climbed 93.61 points, or 1.5%, to close at 6,234,17.

Conquistador Mines topped the most actively traded chart, tacking on 1 to 5 on nearly 1 million shares. The company has been trading near a 52-week low since AngloGold announced that it would stop exploring the junior’s regional project in Colombia.

Brasilca Mining continued to trade with vigor, ending the week at 24, up 5 on 883,000 shares. Investors flocked to the junior following the announcement that Teck and Inco have teamed up to explore its Tucum iron oxide-copper-gold concession in Brazil.

Pan Asia Mining ended the week flat at 7 with 817,000 shares changing hands. The junior is upgrading the 701 diamond mine in China, from which 2,111 carats of rough stones have been recovered.

Kensington Resources tacked on another penny to end the week at 61 with 258,260 shares crossing the floor. Shares in the company have surged on the back of modelled diamond values and revenue calculations for the Fort a La Corne diamond play in Saskatchewan.

Philex Gold added to recent gains, ending the week at $1.60, up 10 on 119,700 shares. The junior recently released more impressive intercepts from the Boyongan copper-gold prospect in the Philippines.

Rockwell Ventures continued to drift lower following an analysis tour of the Pedra Branca platinum-palladium property in Brazil last week. At last count, Rockwell had completed 11 holes into the property. Shares in the Hunter-Dickinson-led company dropped 5 to end the week at 49 on 73,500 shares.