Trading Summary (October 22, 2003)

Toronto’s gold stocks were alone in the black at the end of Wednesday’s trading session, edging 0.38 of a point higher to 203.36, as the yellow metal added US$5.10 to make US$386.10 per oz. in New York. The diversified miners got caught in the sucking vortex with the technology stocks, slipping 2.97 points, or more than 1.6%, to 178.57. In the end, the S7P/TSX composite index was 56.76 points lower at 7,711.24.

With 200 million recently liberated shares floating about, Queenstake Resources was again at the top of the TSX’s most traded list. The issue fell 2 pennies to 67 with about 21.2 million shares on the go. The shares were issued under its acquisition and financing of the Jerritt Canyon gold mine in Nevada, and had faced trading restrictions.

Shares in Cambior sank 22 to $3.75 after the company announced it would shut down the Mouska mine near Rouyn-Noranda in northwestern Quebec to deepen the shaft by 210 metres to 880 metres. Cambior also extended by three years the current collective agreement with workers at Mouska. Also n Wednesday, Cambior posted third-quarter net earnings of US$700,000 (or 3 a share), compared with year-ago earnings of $4 million (3 a share). The latest quarter included a non-hedge derivative loss of $2.4 million. Gold production slipped by 17% to 124,000 oz.; mine operating cost increased by US$22 per oz. to US$238 per oz.

Canadian Zinc jumped 17, or 23%, to 93. The company plans to raise $7.05 million by selling 11.6 million units and 2.5 million flow-through shares at 50 apiece. The goal was 2.5 million units and an equivalent number of flow-through shares, also priced at 50 each. The proceeds will be used to complete a feasibility study at the historic Prairie Creek zinc-lead-silver project in the Northwest Territories.

Miramar added 24, or 9.8%, to make $2.70. Earlier this month, drilling by Miramar outlined more gold at the Suluk zone in the Madrid area of its Hope Bay project in Nunavut.

Still in Nunavut, Tahera‘s Jericho diamond project will face a final public hearing from Dec. 1-5. The hearing represents one of the last hurdles in the regulatory approval process. Tahera hopes to wrap up permitting and project financing during 2004.

Alcan was the busiest base metal issue, falling $1.93 to $53 on just short of 2.8 million shares. On Wednesday, the aluminum giant reported lower third-quarter net income of US$100 million, or US31 a share. Nickel giant Inco fell 77 to $40.43 on a third-quarter net loss of US$$27 million, or US16 a share.

Canada’s junior exchange bucked the downward trend with investors continuing to pick up speculative gold explorers. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index gained 5.03points, or 0.34% and closed at 1,466.78.

Shares in American Bonanza Gold Mines continued to rise after John Embry of Sprott Securities selected the junior as one of his top picks in the gold sector. The company is currently drilling the Copperstone gold project in Arizona, as well as the Big Bar project in Nevada. The company ended the day at 40.5, up 2 on 5.5 million shares traded.

Anooraq Resources added 5 to close at $1.40 on 968,404 shares traded. The Hunter Dickinson led company is working the Platreef platinum-palladium project in South Africa.

Making a nice percentage gain, JNR Resources climbed 4 to close at 11 on nearly 1.5 million shares traded. The Dale Hoffman led company holds uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan.