Market News (March 28, 2011)

Toronto Stock Exchange

After a wild ride over the March 14-18 period the TSX composite index recovered nicely from early losses and gained 244.63 points to finish at 13,789.63.

Market volatility came courtesy of the dis-aster in Japan and fears of a nuclear meltdown. And as fears over the reactor began to quiet, a UN-backed force began an attack on Libya, raising more uncertainties. 

Connected to the global turmoil, the index was helped by a late-week announcement of coordinated central bank intervention by G-7 countries to boost the yen.

The overall uncertainty helped gold miners, if only slightly, as the Global Gold index was up 1.11 points to finish at 381.11 despite the price of the metal falling. Gold was down US$4.50 to US$1,420 per oz. for the period. 

The Capped Metals & Mining index also gained 71.11 points to finish at 1,408.12. The diversified miners grew as talk turned to rebuilding Japan, and copper, nickel, tin and lead prices rose. The prices for aluminum
and zinc, however, remained relatively flat.

As the world grappled with the safety of nuclear reactors in light of the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the price for uranium oxide fell sharply from the US$66 per lb. range down to the US$55 per lb. range. Uranium companies fell with the price as Cameco, Denison Mines and Paladin Energy dropped on heavy volume, while Uranium One, Ur-Energy and UEX Corp. were amongst the week’s heaviest losers by percentage points. 

And while the sentiment towards uranium changed dramatically, the food story remains consistent. Rising food prices continue to fuel healthy valuation for fertilizer miners. This period saw Minemakers enjoy the market spotlight as the company gained 32% to finish at 53¢. The company updated the market on its Sandpiper phosphate project in Namibia. The project is being pushed towards feasibility by the joint-venture group of Minemakers, Union Resources and Tungeni Investments. 

Energy Fuels was hit by a confluence of bad news. The uranium and vanadium developer released word that the Sheep Mountain Alliance in Colorado was challenging its licence in the state. The news sent the company’s shares crashing 42% to 47¢. The group argues that Energy Fuels’ radioactive materials licence was issued without conducting the necessary administrative procedures. Energy Fuels filed its own motion to dismiss Sheep Mountain Alliance’s lawsuit. The company is looking to build the Piñon Ridge uranium mill near Naturita, Colo.

And Lundin Mining‘s management warned shareholders about a rival offer for the company from Equinox Minerals. Lundin argues that Equinox’s offer amounts to an option to acquire the company at an inadequate price. Lundin shares were up 20¢ to $7.34, while Equinox shares rose 50¢ to $5.24. 

TSX most active issues

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Uranium OneUUU2014914.603.363.93-2.03

Paladin EnergyPDN504543.953.063.57-1.09

Denison MinesDML474932.642.032.57-0.62

Cameco CorpCCO4142532.4027.7028.96-7.36

Eastern PlatinELR380771.451.231.32-0.10

Equinox MinlsEQN296525.384.355.24+0.03

Uranium ParticU271057.205.756.80-1.55

Mercator MnlsML257313.933.293.53-0.04

Lundin MngLUN254807.456.707.34-0.05

Mega UraniumMGA249790.710.440.69-0.07

TSX greatest percentage change

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

MinemakersMAK180.530.400.53+32.5

Diamond FieldsDFI6540.360.220.31+24.0

Ram PowerRPG30001.451.171.41+22.6

Avnel GoldAVK9730.490.340.46+21.0

BRC DiamondCrBCD950.150.100.14+16.6

Katanga MngKAT22251.681.301.68+14.2

South Am Gld&CSAG29830.080.060.08+14.2

Wallbridge MngWM13440.250.210.25+13.6

Coalspur MinesCPT19141.951.441.79+13.2

Redzone ResREZ1430.680.590.67+11.6

Energy FuelsEFR207150.740.410.47-41.9

Rockgate CapRGT141202.441.531.79-40.3

Bannerman ResBAN97950.540.340.43-38.5

Uranium OneUUU2014914.603.363.93-34.0

Ur-EnergyURE155802.141.221.68-30.8

Strateco ResRSC88280.740.500.63-30.7

Mantra ResMRL38947.354.305.34-30.6

UEX CorpUEX174251.631.241.32-29.4

Extract ResEXT2489.426.637.30-28.4

Strathmore MnlSTM79110.900.600.83-27.1

TSX greatest value change

WEEK

VOLUMECLOSECHANGE

First QuantumFM3888429121.60+9.65

Labdr I-Ore RoLIF_U58356775.56+4.34

Inmet MiningIMN130874065.74+2.87

Teck BTCKB1931890453.37+2.44

Teck ATCKA2653254.43+2.40

Royal GoldRGL2153549.60+2.05

Major DrillingMDI80246148.15+1.89

Central Gold-TGTU_U1357553.45+1.86

AgriumAGU440066888.50+1.61

Allied NevadaANV87719231.58+1.58

Cameco CorpCCO4142467628.96-7.36

Extract ResEXT2483597.30-2.90

Mantra ResMRL38939335.34-2.36

Golden MnlsAUM7192817.78-2.13

Seabridge GoldSEA17051430.59-2.11

Uranium OneUUU2014912493.93-2.03

Imperial MetalIII54469518.86-1.96

Alamos GoldAGI235481215.53-1.65

Uranium ParticU271054946.80-1.55

Silver WheatonSLW1565329739.25-1.45

TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE

The S&P-TSX Venture composite index partially recovered from early losses in the March 14-18 period, but still ended down 22.87 points at 2,243.87 for a second downward week as the Japanese disaster compounded Middle East unrest to keep markets unstable. 

Uranium stocks took a beating under heavy trading following an escalation of the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan. Hathor Exploration led the way in volume with 27.6 million shares traded as the company dropped 78¢ to end at $2.08. Tournigan Energy saw 18.8 million shares traded as it fell 6¢ to 22¢, and Uracan Resources had 11.9 million shares traded as the company dropped 9¢ to end at 18¢.

A rare bright spot in the week, Gold Canyon Resources was up a dollar to $3.36 to lead value gains after releasing higher-grade gold hits from its Springpole project in Ontario’s Red Lake camp. The company hit 100.5 metres grading 7.23 grams gold per tonne from 51 metres in hole 11-040, a vertical infill hole on the Portage zone. The hole, which included a 28.5-metre section of 19.73 grams gold and ended in mineralization, hit what the company believes is a previously unrecognized high-grade shallow zone.

Richfield Ventures was also up on long gold hits, climbing 64¢ to $6.64 after releasing the first four drill holes from its 30,000-metre drill program at its Blackwater gold project in British Columbia. Hole 120 cut 145 metres of 2.7 grams gold from 158 metres, hole 119 hit 256 metres averaging 0.76 gram gold from 81 metres and hole 118 cut 99 metres carrying 1.52 grams gold from 12 metres. 

Recently listed Atacama Pacific Gold jumped 65¢ to $4.65 after releasing drill results from its Cerro Maricunga gold project in Chile. Highlights from the Lynx zone include hole 40 that hit 240 metres of 0.72 gram gold from 114 metres depth, hole 42 that cut 134 metres averaging 0.57 gram gold from surface and hole 36 that, despite the company abandoning it at 23 metres depth due to poor ground conditions, cut 23 metres averaging 0.83 gram gold. The company had an initial public offering last November at $2.75 per share. 

Encanto Potash regained much of the ground it lost the week before after releasing a resource estimate for its Muskowekwan potash project on the Muskowekwan First Nation reserve in Saskatchewa
n. Upon releasing resource estimates based on conventional mining and in-situ mining, the company’s share price climbed 10¢ to 48¢ on 18.2 million shares traded. The solution-mining resource came in at 1.14 billion indicated tonnes of in-place sylvinite grading 29.4% potassium chloride or 18.6% potassium oxide, plus 868.4 million inferred tonnes of in-place sylvinite grading 29.2% KCl or 18.5% K₂O. The conventional-mining resource was 461.5 million indicated tonnes grading 36.2% KCl or 22.9% K₂O and 327.4 million inferred tonnes grading 36.4% KCl or 23% K₂O.

TSX-V most active issues

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Hathor ExplHAT276062.251.502.08-0.78

Tournigan EngyTVC187770.230.160.22-0.07

Encanto PotashEPO181640.500.310.47+0.09

Century MiningCMM149310.830.520.54-0.04

Klondike SilvKS128810.040.030.030.00

Great WesternGWG127920.790.620.77-0.06

Uracan ResURC118930.220.150.18-0.08

Timmins GoldTMM109912.802.202.48+0.15

Orbite Expl AORTA104942.591.802.59+0.29

Ucore UraniumUCU100051.000.751.00+0.03

TSX-V greatest percentage change

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Actus MnlsAAC1780.150.090.15+50.0

Sea Green CapSGS1880.060.040.06+50.0

Newmac ResNER42000.140.050.09+50.0

Reunion GoldRGD16561.921.221.92+46.5

Gold CanyonGCU62963.381.953.36+42.3

Excel Gold MngEGM8880.140.090.14+40.0

Bear Lake GoldBLG13050.200.130.19+35.7

Azteca GoldAZG10250.040.030.04+33.3

Copper OneCUO9020.480.320.48+33.3

Mill Bay VentMBV400.290.220.29+31.8

Cascade ResCC15780.220.120.13-43.4

Nevada SunriseNEV12730.100.070.07-41.6

Island Arc ExpIAX33510.090.040.05-37.5

Advance GoldAAX22720.090.060.07-36.3

Purepoint UPTU73940.380.230.30-36.1

Tigris UranTU16450.670.370.45-35.7

JNR ResJNN92120.280.200.24-33.3

Pitchstone ExpPXP12450.400.250.29-32.5

U3O8 CorpUWE70220.850.470.66-31.9

Kivalliq EnrgyKIV65870.610.400.50-31.5

TSX-V greatest value change

WEEK

VOLUMECLOSECHANGE

Gold CanyonGCU62960933.36+1.00

Atacama Pac GdATM12268344.65+0.65

Richfield VentRVC12800396.64+0.64

Reunion GoldRGD16558101.92+0.61

Pac Booker MinBKM141178.38+0.48

Copper Fox MtlCUU70308141.83+0.35

Maudore MinlsMAO1324715.20+0.33

African Aura MAUR3498044.16+0.31

Rainy River RsRR135198911.30+0.30

Orbite Expl AORTA104938742.59+0.29

Hathor ExplHAT276055652.08-0.78

Rare Elemnt RsRES91528210.22-0.75

Fortress MnlsFST111854.50-0.60

Canaco ResCAN19788785.00-0.59

Ninety Nine CpWDG14735643.00-0.48

Chesapeake GldCKG14223210.35-0.42

Amazon MngAMZ3962567.65-0.35

Anfield NickelANF2487244.00-0.35

Loncor ResLN2302292.80-0.34

CanAlaska UranCVV18800340.98-0.34

U.S. markets

It was a dark week for U.S. equities as Japan struggled to contain fires, explosions and radiation leaks at its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 185.88 points or 1.54% to 11,858.52, while the S&P 500 index lost 25.08 points or 1.92% to finish at 1,279.20. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver index dropped 2.51 points or 1.2% to 204.30, while the gold price edged up US10¢ to US$1,419.70 per oz. 

Fears about the future of nuclear power lifted shares of coal producers. Peabody Energy, Alliance Resource Partners and Consol Energy topped the list of value gains. Peabody advanced US$7.07 to US$70.21 per share, Alliance Resource Partners jumped US$6.39 to US$79.68, and Consol Energy added US$5.32 to US$53.93. Alpha Natural Resources and Massey Energy also benefited, gaining US$4.19 to US$55.28 and US$2.56 to US$62.13, respectively. Arch Coal was up US$1.99 to US$34.47 while Patriot Coal gained US$1.84 to US$24.43. Teck Resources advanced US$1.77 to US$54.22, despite issuing revised coal sales guidance for the first quarter of 2011. Teck reported on March 14 that unusually difficult winter weather conditions had caused higher than normal rail delays due to avalanches, as well as an unusual number of locomotive power failures and train length restrictions. Teck now expects coal sales in the first quarter to be in the range of 4.6-4.9 million tonnes, down from an average of 5.3 million tonnes in the first quarter of each of the last six years.  

Uranium stocks continued their downward trajectory. Cameco Corp. led the way with a drop of US$7.98 or 21.3% to US$29.40 per share. Ur-Energy lost 32.2% to close at US$1.70 while Uranerz Energy tumbled 21.5% to US$3.10.

Allied Nevada added US$2.07 to close at US$32.90 per share, on no news. In late February it reported net income of US$6.6 million (US7¢ per share) in the fourth quarter of 2010 and US$34.1 million (US41¢ per share) for all of 2010, compared with profits of US$17.8 million (US24¢ per share) and US$8.5 million (US13¢ per share) for the same periods in 2009. Net income in 2010 included a tax benefit of US$7.1 million. 

U.S. most active issues

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Freeport McMo*FCX13465753.2946.5351.78+2.30

Alcoa*AA12810316.3315.4316.11+0.08

Cameco Corp*CCJ10622132.8728.0829.40-7.98

Hecla Mining*HL813248.947.818.34-0.66

Uranium Res*URRE704982.201.372.17-0.15

Silver Wheatn*SLW6618342.3037.8539.91-1.99

Potash C Sask*POT5914356.5650.2554.52+0.36

Alpha Nat Res*ANR5291556.4850.3455.28+4.19

Intl Coal Gp*ICO4872110.649.6010.00+0.22

Peabody Enrgy*BTU4866472.0062.7070.21+7.07

U.S. greatest percentage change

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Tri-Valley*TIV76930.570.440.57+14.0

Claude Res*CGR28782.582.012.55+13.8

Peabody Enrgy*BTU4866472.0062.7070.21+11.2

Consol Energy*CNX2995156.3248.4053.93+10.9

Minera Andes*MNEAF20692.882.222.84+10.5

Minefinders*MFN602611.539.8611.28+8.8

Alliance Rs P*ARLP86484.1072.7279.68+8.7

Petaquilla Mn*PTQMF14271.050.821.01+8.6

Alpha Nat Res*ANR5291556.4850.3455.28+8.2

Patriot Coal*PCX674324.5021.6624.43+8.1

Am Engy Field*AEFI3701.190.750.83-33.0

Ur-Energy*URG26962.181.331.70-32.2

Uranerz Energ*URZ249263.432.603.10-21.5

Cameco Corp*CCJ10622132.8728.0829.40-21.3

Mines Managem*MGN26303.052.332.41-20.9

Denison Mines*DNN57672.682.142.61-20.6

Cornerstone C*CTNXF730.610.470.50-18.0

Crosshair E&M*CXZ10221.420.961.37-17.9

China Shen Zh*SHZ5514.023.253.40-17.4

Samex Mng*SMXMF9420.840.620.71-15.4

U.S. greatest value change

WEEK

VOLUMECLOSECHANGE

Peabody Enrgy*BTU4866377670.21+7.07

Alliance Rs P*ARLP86413979.68+6.39

Consol Energy*CNX2995143553.93+5.32

Alpha Nat Res*ANR5291498255.28+4.19

Massey Energy*MEE3576133662.13+2.56

Freeport McMo*FCX13465713451.78+2.30

Allied Nevada*ANV218847232.90+2.07

Arch Coal*ACI3289637034.47+1.99

Patriot Coal*PCX674283724.43+1.84

Teck B*TCK2510368754.22+1.77

Cameco Corp*CCJ10622061729.40-7.98

AngloGold Ash*AU857659444.24-2.80

Seabridge Gld*SA227864931.27-2.18

Silver Wheatn*SLW6618328239.91-1.99

Coeur d Alene*CDE3111263031.44-1.69

Northern Dyn*NAK640023113.85-1.56

Barrick Gold*ABX4435010349.40-1.41

Pan Am Silver*PAAS964800234.72-1.24

Newmont Mng*NEM4094687950.89-1.
23

Stillwater Mg*SWC1946574020.72-1.20