U.S. markets drop, Dec. 12-15

U.S. equities slipped during Dec. 12-15, as investors took in the news flowing out of Europe around its growing debt crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 315.45 points to 11,868.81, while the S&P 500 Index lost 39.44 points to 1,215.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index finished down 105.57 points to 2,541.01. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index dipped 20.08 points to 180.56 as the spot price for gold lost US$140.70 per oz., ending at US$1,570.60.

Legend International Holdings was the largest percentage gainer, managing to eke out a 6% gain to close up a penny at US16¢, on no news. Legend announced in early November that it plans to start phosphate rock production and sales operations from its Paradise rock deposits in Queensland, Australia.

One of the biggest losers was Ivanhoe Mines dropping 25.8% after an arbitrator sided with the company’s largest shareholder, Rio Tinto. The London-based company, which currently owns 49% of Ivanhoe, claimed that Ivanhoe’s shareholder rights plan will dilute it out of its ownership stake. Rio plans to boost its stake to over 50% soon, to give it more control over the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold deposit in Mongolia, without launching a full takeover bid. Ivanhoe lost US$5.63 to end at US$16.15 on 31.3 million shares traded.

Alliance Resource Partners, a diversified producer and marketer of steam coal, topped the list of value gains, moving up US30¢ to US$72.53 on no news. Randgold Resources, which was the previous week’s biggest gainer on no news, lost US$10.30 per share to end at US$98.21. The company announced on Nov. 28 that it expects problems at its Tongon mine in Côte d’Ivoire to lower its gold production for the fourth quarter.

Royal Gold saw it shares tumble US$9.59 per share to end at US$69.12, after announcing it will buy another 15% of future production from Thompson Creek Metal‘s near-term Mt. Milligan copper-gold project in British Columbia. This boosts the company’s gold stream interest in the project to 40%. Royal Gold will pay $270 million for the purchase, increasing its total payment to $581.5 million. Mt. Milligan is anticipated to start producing in late 2013. Annual production for the first six years is estimated at 262,000 oz. gold. But over the life of the mine, production should average 194,000 oz. gold per year.