Trading Summary (January 06, 2003)

Toronto’s Gold Index dropped 3.16 points to finish Monday’s session at 202.07 as the yellow metal came off an early-day high to end US90 higher at US$351.80 per oz. The base metal miners went the other way climbing 1.55 points to 136.17. In the end, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was 64.61 points higher at 6,837.27.

McWatters Mining outpaced Canada’s other gold stock gaining a penny to 29 on more than 10.5 million shares. McWatters recently outlined 1.2 million tonnes of new mineralized material at its dormant Kienna mine, near Val d’Or, Que. The resource, which averages 4.25 grams per tonne, is divided between two newly discovered zones.

Kinross Gold was next in line with a 7 slide to $3.88 with about 7.7 million shares traded. Placer Dome lost a quarter to $18.15 and Barrick Gold dropped 42 to hit $24.50 to round out the major producers.

Making waves among the base metal miners was Sherritt International, which along with its partner, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, boosted the cash portion of its hostile bid for Fording to $965 million from $850 million. The total value of the deal remains at around $1.8 billion, as the number of shares available to Fording shareholders under the proposed deal decreases to 38.6 million from 42.4 million.

Sherritt’s shares finished 3 pennies higher at $4.51; Fording’s issue ascended 48 to $33.50 on about 1.8 million shares to rank as the most traded on the diversified metals & mining index.

Others seeing more than a million shares move were: aluminum giant Alcan, up $1.26 to $49.29 and zinc miner Breakwater Resources, which tacked on a penny and a half to make 18.

The S&P composite index on Canada’s junior exchange closed down 0.53 points, or 0.05% to 1,102.15 with 55 million shares traded.Advancers beat decliners 344-to-318.

Oasis Diamond Exploration jumped 3 to 9 on 2.46 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.

Quaterra Resources tacked on 3 and closed the day at 11 with 1.4 million shares traded. The company holds the Duke Island copper, nickel PGE property in Alaska and has at last report identified nine discrete anomalies. The junior plans to drill priority targets in the spring.

ECU Silver Mining lost a penny and closed at 12 with 1.3 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.