Trading Summary (July 15, 2003)

Gold tumbled US$5.60 to end at US$341.80 in New York on Tuesday. Predictably, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s gold index was dragged along, falling 3.63 points, or more than 2% of value, to 166.1. The base metal miners managed to keep out of the vortex, climbing three-quarters of a point to 132 even. By day’s end, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.1 of appoint higher at 7,116.08.

Eldorado Gold and Bema Gold continued to leave the country’s other gold issues in the dust, trading around 8.2 million and 6.8 million shares traded, respectively. Eldorado shed 8 to $2.60, while Bema gained 6 to make $2.05.

Eldorado was recently granted an environmental positive certificate for its Kisladag gold project in western Turkey. Recent drilling by Bema on the Kupol property in Chukotka, Russia, cut some high gold and silver grades along a 1.6-km portion of a 4-km-long epithermal gold-silver vein system. Based on Russian standards, resources are pegged at 780,000 tonnes grading 33.3 grams gold and 372.8 grams silver.

Aur Resources was next, adding 32 to make $3.62 with about 2.7 million shares traded. Aur recently cleared its debt to Teck Cominco relating to the purchase of the latter’s 76.5% interest in the Quebrada Blanca copper mine in Chile. For their part, Teck’s B series ended 8 higher at $11.58.

Canada’s major gold producers finished a bit off the pace. Placer Dome saw the most action with just more than of 2 million shares finding their way 35 lower to $16.17; Barrick Gold finished 24 cheaper at $23.77; and Kinross Gold dropped 35 to $8.15.

After Aur, Alcan was the next busiest base metal miner, gaining 27 to $41.75 on about 1.1 million shares.

Canada’s junior exchange felt the impact of falling bullion prices with investors unloading speculative gold stocks. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index lost 2.50 points, or 0.22% and closed at 1,117.19.

Shell company Golden Hat Resources added a penny to close at 5 on 809,733 shares traded.

Samex Mining ended the day down half a penny at 29.5 on 654,915 shares traded. The junior has been working its wholly owned San Pedro prospect in Chile’s El Zorro district. Mineralization lies in a breccia body where sporadic small mining activity has been carried out since the early 1960’s.

Aquiline Resources got a boost on the results from a 14-hole drill program over the Calcatreu gold project in Patagonia, Argentina. The 1,275 metre program, which included 10 reverse circulation and 4 diamond drill holes, targeted the Vein 49 deposit over a 200 metre strike length. The best results came from hole 103, which returned 14 metres grading 13.5 grams gold and 64 grams silver per tonne. Shares in the junior climbed 9 to 68 on a volume of 445,600.