Trading Summary (June 18, 2003)

Toronto stocks dropped 17.53 points to end Wednesday’s trading session at 7,103.49. The material index led the slide, dropping 3.1 points, or 2.7% of value, to 112.06. The gold index chipped in a 2.64-point fall to 171.69, as the diversified miners lost 1.46 points to 131.56.

No surprise, Canada’s major gold producers were sharing a red pen. Kinross Gold saw the most action, ending 32 poorer at $9.49 on a trading volume of 4.3 million shares. Placer Dome dropped 26 to 16.59 on 3.5 million shares and Barrick Gold fell 54 to $24.81 on 2.3 million shares.

Miramar Mining dropped a penny to $1.69. The company plans to raise $7.3 million via a private placement of around 3.5 million flow-through shares at $2.10 per share. The proceeds will fund continued exploration on the company’s Hope Bay project in Nunavut.

Shares in Montreal-based niobium miner Niocan soared 40, or 67%, to $1. The company recently received a thumbs up the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec at its Oka niobium project, about 40 km northwest of Montreal. The company still needs final authorization form Quebec’s Ministry of the Environment.

Alcan was the busiest base metal miner, falling 17 to $43.64 with just 753,979 shares on the go. Swedish metals group Boliden put in the best performance, earning a quarter to make $3.05.

In the junior ranks, Chesbar Resources jumped 4.5, or 22.5%, to 24.5. The company is drilling on its El Inicio nickel laterite project in Guatemala. The holes are aimed at twinning and extending a group of pits. The pits contain several intervals exceeding 2% nickel.

Canada’s junior exchange managed to stay in positive territory as investors realized gains in select issues. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index edged up 0.56 of a point, or 0.05% and closed at 1,116.10 with 44.6 million shares traded.

Investors of Kensington Resources decided to take some profits after the junior announced that it recovered a total of 664 macrodiamonds, collectively weighing 93.06 carats from its Fort a la Corne joint venture property near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The company’s issue dropped 21 and closed at $1.25 on 1.58 million shares. Five large diamonds were recovered that weighed in at 10.23 carats, 3.61 carats, 2.595 carats, 2.57 carats, and 1.820 carats, respectively.

International Wayside Gold Mines lost 3 and closed at 12 with 1.37 million shares traded. The junior recently released results from 8 drill holes in its phase-2 exploration program at the Cariboo gold project near Barkerville in central British Columbia. The program was designed to evaluate a portion of the Bonanza Ledge zone and holes were spaced 20 ft. apart. Highlights include hole 7 which cut 145.6 ft. averaging 0.364 oz. gold per ton and hole 8 which cut 148.0 ft averaging 0.397 oz. gold per ton.

Shear Minerals lost 5 and closed at $1.49 with 869,573 shares traded as investors took some profits. Earlier news of a third kimberlite discovery on the Churchill diamond project in Nunavut set a fire under the company’s shares.