Trading Summary (September 11, 2002)

Subindex-wide gains sent the Toronto Stock Exchange 74.08 points higher to 6,618.3 on Wednesday. The base metal miners put in the best percentage gain, grabbing 3.3 points or 2.8% to hit 119.72 points. The golds gained 2.66 points to 197.15.

The country’s gold miners put in a mixed performance as the yellow metal dropped US40 to US$316.40 per oz. Kinross Gold was the most traded, dropping 14 to $3.42 on 4.7 million shares. The other two major producers went the other way: Barrick Gold made 47 to reach $26.45, and Placer Dome climbed 41 to $16.35. Wheaton River Minerals lost 7 to $1.22 on more than 1 million shares — a little more than usual.

The base metal miners were higher across the board. Inco led the pack, advancing 21 to $28.35 on 747,099 shares. Noranda added 61 to make $16.65 and Falconbridge found 20 to reach $16.20. On Wednesday, Mustang Minerals announced that Falconbridge was dropping the East Bull Lake PGE property near Sudbury, Ont.

LionOre Mining International has announced plans to consolidate its nickel mining interests down under via an A85-per-share bid for the 20% stake it doesn’t already own in its Australian-listed subsidiary LionOre Australia (Nickel). LionOre Mining’s shares finished a dime higher at $3.75.

Putting in nice percentage gains were: Teck Cominco‘s B class shares, which gained 89 or 8.6% to $11.19; and Ivanhoe Mines, which closed the session 20 or nearly 7% higher at $3.20.

Canada’s junior bourse bounced off its yearly low on modest volume The TSX Venture Exchange composite index gained 9.09 points, or 0.9%, to close at 1,001.47.

Frontier Pacific Mining topped the most actively traded chart among the junior explorers, falling 2 to close at 20 on just over 1 million shares. The reactivated company is working the San Francisco gold property in Sonora state, Mexico and is currently eyeing some ground in Nevada.

Investors sold off shares in Platinum Group Metals following news that the company had inked a deal to earn a 55% stake in the Ledig farm in the western Bushveld of South Africa. The junior plunged 9 to close at 90 on 352,000 shares.

Another South African explorer to loss ground, Anooraq Resources fell 4 to close at 70 on 142,200 shares. The junior’s joint venture partner is drilling on its Rietfontain farm in the northern Bushveld.