Platinum, palladium prices fuel market activity

Strong demand and continuing uncertainty over Russian exports kept platinum and palladium prices rallying during the Feb. 9-15 report period. The former climbed $8 to US$549 per oz., while the latter soared $78 to a record London morning fix of US$652 per oz.

Basking in the euphoria, North America Palladium climbed $2.15 to $10.90. The company is Canada’s only primary producer of the metals and has risen 66% since the start of the year.

Gold traded at US$300.50 per oz. on the morning of Feb. 16, off $5.50 from a week ago. Despite the loss, Canada’s major producers of the yellow metal did well: Placer Dome leapt $1.50 to $15.15; Barrick Gold jumped 90 to $25.90; and Kinross Gold added 22 to close at $2.80.

Dayton Mining rose 2 to 14 after striking a deal with Kinross that will see it acquire the major’s 49% stake in the Denton-Rawhide gold-silver mine in Nevada and its 58.3% interest in Vancouver-based subsidiary Mirage Resources. In exchange, Kinross will receive 178 million shares of Dayton, thereby increasing to 33% its total stake in the junior.

Inco surged ahead $5.50 to $31.20 on improved earnings and a 25 rise in the price of nickel, which closed at US$4.45 per lb. Also making gains were Falconbridge, up $1.45 to $26.35, and Sherritt International, up 67 to $3.82.

Teck announced it plans to develop the Carosue Dam gold project in Australia. The major holds a 79% interest in the project, which is expected to crank out between 110,000 and 140,000 oz. over 10 years. Teck B-series shares remained unchanged, at $13.35.

Aur Resources extended its takeover offer for Cambior to March 2, following discussions with Cambior management that resulted in an agreement to give Aur access to confidential information and to allow discussions with Cambior’s creditors. Cambior was down 1 at $2.06 and Aur rose 5 to $2.25.

Highlighting the junior market were companies making the switch to the high-tech sector: William Resources, which saw a remarkable 210 million shares change hands, rose 8 to 19; Vengold jumped 18 to 84 on a volume of 58 million shares; and Aurado Explorations climbed 7 to 13 on a volume of 9.8 million shares.

Fairstar Explorations skyrocketed 63 to 73 for a whopping 630% increase over the previous period, making it the highest percentage gainer overall. The company plans to restructure itself as an internet publisher and advertiser by merging with unlisted Media Invention. If approved, a new company would be formed to hold the company’s exploration properties in Quebec and Ghana.

Tenke Mining rose 33 to $1.35. The junior announced it would soon begin drilling four targets at its Vicuna gold project in Argentina. Each is overlain by strong gold-in-soil anomalies and one is described as being similar to the nearby Filo Federico prospect.