Trading Summary (February 03, 2003)

The Toronto Stock Exchange was slightly higher in relatively light trading on Monday, with the TSX Composite index up 24.19 points, or 0.4% of value, to 6,593.68. Real estate and financial-services stocks led the market higher and the mining sectors both lost ground.

The TSX gold index was off 1.2% as the broad market advanced, dropping to 192.97 points. Most of the stocks on the index were down, with heavily weighted Barrick Gold off 35 to $24.75 and Placer Dome down 17 at $17.09.

Kinross Gold celebrated its merger with TVX Gold and Echo Bay Mines, and its three-for-one consolidation, by falling 50 to $10.51. Following reports in the daily press that Kinross might “walk away” from TVX’s Greek operations, which are mired in regulatory problems and beset by social opposition, Kinross had to release a statement correcting the reports. Robert Buchan, Kinross’s president, had in fact said, “There are very substantial assets there. I’m not about to walk away from them.”

The base metal stocks were only slightly lower on the day, with the TSX diversified mining and metals index off 0.47 points at 133.42.

LionOre Mining International took a 17 hit to close at $5.25 on news that the BCL smelter at Selebi-Phikwe in Botswana, which takes feed from LionOre’s Tati nickel mine, had shut down after a leak in one of the boiler tubes. While BCL staff were shutting down the boiler, they discovered a structural failure in the smelter’s flash furnace as well.

The Fording partners all registered gains, with Sherritt International up 7 at $4.62 and Fording itself up 10 at $33.85. The third, Teck Cominco, added 37 to finish at $12.47, partly on the strength of improved financial results for year-end. Teck made $15 million in the fourth quarter and $30 million on the year, on fourth-quarter revenues of $625 million and annual revenues of $2.2 billion.

Canada’s junior exchange managed to start the trading week off in the plus column, thanks in large part to a couple of junior diamond explorers. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index gained 0.81 of a point and closed at 1,117.96.

News that diamonds have been recovered from two kimberlite showings on the Melville Peninsula in Nunavut sent shares of Northern Empire Minerals and Storoway Ventures soaring. Located 850 km northwest of the territorial capital of Iqaluit, the Aviat project host at least two diamond-bearing kimberlites; the AV-1 kimberlite occurrence covers an 8-by-40 metre outcrop, where an 186.1 kg samples yielded 228 diamonds, with the largest stones measuring 2.2-by-1.86-by-1.32 mm, the second find comprises a series of angular boulders up to 50 cm in diameter. A 46-kg sample collected from the boulders yielded 92 diamonds with the largest stone measuring 1.02-by-0.62-by-0.52 mm. Shares in Northern Empire added 60 to close at $1.10 on a volume of 4.8 million, while stock in Storoway added 64 to close at $1.06 on 3.9 million shares.

American Bonanza Gold Mining ended the session at 35, up 2 on just over 2 million shares. Toronto-listed Gold Corp has taken a 10.4% stake in the junior by being the largest buyer of an 18.3 million unit private placement priced at 22 each. A unit holds one share and one half a warrant, which is exercisable at 28 for a year.

Radius Explorations hit a new 52-week high, gaining 11 to close at $1.12 on 300,400 shares. The junior holds a large land package in Guatemala.