STOCK MARKET — TSE down slightly as golds and base metals edge ahead — Junior issues gain

some vitality in week of light trading

The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index ended the report period Oct.

14-21 at 7137.27, down 31.5 points, or 0.4%. Trading was relatively light, with trading on three of the five business days failing to rise above 100 million shares.

The Canadian dollar lost 36 basis points against the U.S. greenback, closing at US72cents on Oct. 21. Indeed, with the exception of the Deutschmark, the Loony lost ground against all other major foreign currencies.

Gold was also slightly off from the previous report period, dropping US$2.90.

On the morning of Oct. 22, the yellow metal was fixed on the London Metal Exchange at US$322.70 per oz. Silver meanwhile lost 2cents to US$4.97 per oz., while the ever-volatile platinum price sank $16.50 to US$410 per oz.

Robust trading of gold issues boosted the TSE gold and precious metals sub-group index to 8779.56, for a gain of 86.6 points, or 1%. Major producers didn’t fare so well: Barrick Gold was down $1.20 to $31.80; Placer Dome fell 90cents to $25.25; and Cambior shed 25cents to $14.35.

TVX Gold sank 95cents to $7.30 as its lawyers prepared to enter an Ontario courthouse on Oct. 27 to defend the company’s stake in the Kassandra gold project in Greece. The Alpha Group, as the three plaintiffs refer to themselves, contend that TVX wrongfully shut them out of its plan to develop the mine and are suing for $500 million. Two of the trio are best known for their former senior positions with Curragh, which owned the Westray coal mine in Nova Scotia at the time of the disaster that killed 26 miners on May 8, 1992.

The royalty sisters once again beat the market. Franco-Nevada Mining rose 90cents to $36.30, while Euro-Nevada Mining gained 95cents to finish the report period at $26.45.

Among the week’s losers was Bema Gold, which continued to approach its 1-year low, declining 45cents to close at $5.55.

Despite hitting a record low during one of the trading days, the TSE mining and

minerals sub-group still managed to gain

a healthy 94.04 points, or 2%, to close at 4691.65. The index hit a record low of 4512.92 during the week.

Copper lost a penny, trading on the morning of Oct. 22 at US94cents per lb.

Nickel was down 2cents to US$2.88 per lb., while zinc slipped an equivalent amount, trading at US57cents per lb. Lead was up a penny to US28cents per lb.

Teck was the big winner among base metal producers, adding $1.20 to close at $26.50. The rise comes on news that the major drilled 1.1 metres of high-grade nickel-

copper-cobalt on part of the South Voisey’s Bay project, where it is earning a 25% interest.

Inco rose 40cents to $32.90, while rival Falconbridge gained 85cents to close at $25.30. Other gainers were Noranda, which jumped 80cents to $27.25, and Cameco, which rebounded $2 to $54.25.

The junior issues were led by Gran Colombia Resources, which more than doubled its share price. The issue rose 36cents from 17cents but is still far from its 1-year high of $2.05. The company recently sold its interest in the Colombian company Mineros Nacionales for US$1.5 million. Mineros holds property adjacent to Gran Colombia’s Marmato property. Bolivar Goldfields, a major shareholder in Gran Colombia, rose a quarter to 90cents.

Nebex Resources rose 55cents to close at $1.15. The company has inked a deal with an Albanian company to explore and develop the Munelle base metal deposit in north-central Albania. Nebex has also committed to buy Lak Roshii, an Albanian copper-gold mine.