Market news

Toronto Stock Exchange

The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished the period 98 points higher at 12,380, despite giving back some of its earlier period gains.

These initial gains were built on momentum generated south of the border as stock prices moved higher on better-than-expected job-growth figures in the U.S. 

But renewed optimism for the American economy was bad news for commodities and the composite. Investors figured that if the American economy was growing stronger, further rounds of quantitative easing might not be necessary, and inflation might not be a problem. This sent prices for oil and gold lower. 

The price for gold was down US$37 to US$1,675.20 per oz., which caused gold miners to fall off slightly, as evidenced by the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index falling 12 points to 324.56. 

Diversified miners fared slightly better, and the S&P/TSX Capped Diversified Metals & Mining Index was up 58 points to 972.19 points, despite the copper price falling 3¢ to US$3.48 per lb.

Despite gold losing a bit of lustre in the period, Freegold Ventures shone thanks to a new resource estimate for its Golden Summit project in Alaska. The estimate caught the market’s attention by outlining 254% more mineralization in the Dolphin zone. The zone now has indicated resources of 62.6 million tonnes grading 0.73 gram gold for 1.5 million oz., and inferred resources of 191.9 million tonnes grading 0.67 gram gold for 4.1 million oz. gold. The growing large-tonnage deposit had the company’s shares up 42% to 98¢.

Legal issues in Egypt conspired to deflate Centamin’s market cap, as the company saw its share price fall 40% to 93¢. The dispute centres on its flagship Sukari operation near the Red Sea in southeastern Egypt. The Egyptian administrative court annulled Centamin’s concession agreement, which was negotiated under toppled leader Hosni Mubarak’s regime. The new government is led by Mohamed Morsi and backed by the Muslim Brotherhood. The country’s courts are reviewing contracts and agreements ratified under the previous administration.

A strong third quarter and the looming expiration of a takeover offer were front and centre for Inmet Mining over the period. Investors took a positive overall view of the news, as the company was the largest gainer by dollar value, with its shares climbing $5.72 to $56.17. Inmet said third-quarter net income grew 19% to $116.2 million, or $1.68 per share from $98 million, as both copper production and prices improved. On the acquisition front, Inmet’s hostile bid for Petaquilla Minerals, which runs the Molejon gold mine next to Inmet’s development-stage Cobre Panama mega-copper project in Panama, was set to expire without being accepted by the necessary majority of shareholders.

TSX most active issues

		Volume	Week October 29 – November 2
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Pac Coal Res	PAK	47482	0.16	0.11	0.13	+	0.03
RPT Uranium	RPT	14027	0.02	0.01	0.01		0
Sandstorm Mt&E	SND	13657	0.6	0.48	0.57	+	0.09
GoldQuest Mng	GQC	11051	0.9	0.67	0.79	–	0.08
Matamec Expl	MAT	8011	0.18	0.14	0.16	–	0.02
Tres-Or Res	TRS	7533	0.04	0.03	0.04	+	0.01
Aurcana Corp	AUN	6074	1.09	1.01	1.02	–	0.02
Mustang Minls	MUM	5621	0.04	0.03	0.04		0
Castillian Res	CT	5584	0.04	0.04	0.04		0
Argonaut Expl	AGA	5384	0.03	0.02	0.03	–	0.01

TSX greatest percentage change

		Volume	Week October 29 – November 2
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Santa Fe Metls	SFM	2039	0.04	0.02	0.03	+	150
Beatrix Vent	BXV	17	0.05	0.02	0.05	+	150
New Guinea Gld	NGG	2122	0.01	0.01	0.01	+	100
Highbank Res	HBK	273	0.06	0.04	0.06	+	100
Sheltered Oak	OAK	1792	0.01	0.01	0.01	+	100
Takara Res	TKK	516	0.02	0.01	0.02	+	100
Red Mile Mnls	RDM	26	0.05	0.04	0.05	+	80
Canadn Plat	CPC	343	0.1	0.05	0.1	+	72.7
Goldrea Res	GOR	70	0.03	0.03	0.03	+	66.6
Golden Dory Rs	GDR	519	0.05	0.04	0.05	+	66.6
Odin Mng & Exp	ODN	100	0.05	0.05	0.05	–	50
Auramex Res	AUX	34	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
La Quinta Res	LAQ	54	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
Electra Gold	ELT	25	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
Menika Mining	MML	664	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	50
Mill City Intl	MC	10	0.05	0.03	0.03	–	50
Hudson River M	HRM	667	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	50
Swift Res	SWR	2516	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	50
Green Valley M	GVY	15	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
Viper Gold	VPR	16	0.06	0.04	0.04	–	41.6

TSX greatest value change

		Week  October 29 – November 2
		Change	Close	Change
Lumina Copper	LCC	151001	10.01	+	0.76
Newstrike Cap	NES	1050492	2.63	+	0.43
Athabasca Mnls	ABM	2688523	2.21	+	0.36
West High Yld	WHY	251473	0.79	+	0.24
Pac Booker Min	BKM	49561	3.84	+	0.22
Probe Mines	PRB	1793240	1.9	+	0.2
Colombian Mins	CMJ	360415	0.47	+	0.15
Northern Vertx	NEE	256475	1.25	+	0.15
West Cirque Rs	WCQ	15250	0.4	+	0.15
Dakar Res	DKR	23000	0.4	+	0.14
Chesapeake Gld	CKG	56032	9.11	–	0.33
Maudore Minls	MAO	62900	2.8	–	0.26
Sandstorm Gld	SSL	939789	13.5	–	0.16
Atac Res	ATC	1014542	2.15	–	0.16
EurOmax Res	EOX	144757	0.9	–	0.15
Energold Drill	EGD	114778	3.51	–	0.13
Tirex Res	TXX	1088026	0.7	–	0.12
Reservoir Mnls	RMC	732322	3.1	–	0.11
Mirasol Res	MRZ	98791	2.05	–	0.1
Anfield Nickel	ANF	147815	3.7	–	0.1

TSX Venture Exchange

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index jumped 19 points during the trading period, or 1.44%, before closing the week at 1,310.03 points.

The Canadian dollar finished the week at US100.45¢, while the economy added 1,800 jobs in October to maintain a 7.4% unemployment rate. The price for gold declined US$37 to US$1,675 per oz., while copper fell 3¢ to close the week at US$3.48 per lb.

PwC released its Junior Mine 2012 report, which features a roundup of the top-100 junior mining companies on the Venture exchange. The report showed a decreased availability of debt and equity financing, as well as an industry-wide fall in market capitalization. According to PwC, aggregate equity financing decreased by 41% to $1.6 billion year-on-year, while the total market cap for the companies in the top 100 dropped by 43%. PwC also noted the lack of initial public offerings, with only four mining IPOs closing on the TSX Venture Exchange during the third quarter.

Besieged B.C.-based Pacific Booker Minerals gained 22¢ to close at $3.84 per share. On Oct. 31, the company released a statement in response to a provincial government’s decision to deny permits for its Morrison Lake copper-gold project near Smithers. Pacific Booker notes it has been working on Morrison Lake since 1998, and outlined points from an environmental assessment report cited by Minister of Environment Terry Lake. Specific concerns addressed in Pacific Booker’s response include: impacts on a genetically unique sockeye salmon population in the Skeena River, potential for long-term environmental liabilities for the province and insufficient data on nearby lakes.

During the period, gold explorer Maudore Minerals fell 26¢, or 9%, following an updated resource release for its Osbell deposit 150 km north of Val-d’Or, Que. The company closed the week at $2.80 per share. Maudore released an open-pit indicated resource for its Osborne zone totalling 8.4 million tonnes grading 2 grams gold per tonne for 544,250 contained oz. at a 0.5 gram gold cut-off. Osbell holds an additional 5 million inferred tonnes grading 2.7 grams gold for 428,000 contained oz. in the ground at its Osborne, Bell and Envelope zones. 

Maudore noted that its open-pit shell encompasses 99.7% of total indicated resources, and intends to use its geological model as a foundation for a preliminary economic assessment. The company has proposed 44,000 metres of regional exploration drilling in 2013 at its Comtois property, which includes the Osbell deposit.

TSX-V most active issues

		Volume	Week  October 29 – November 2
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Pac Coal Res	PAK	47482	0.16	0.11	0.13	+	0.03
RPT Uranium	RPT	14027	0.02	0.01	0.01		0
Sandstorm Mt&E	SND	13657	0.6	0.48	0.57	+	0.09
GoldQuest Mng	GQC	11051	0.9	0.67	0.79	–	0.08
Matamec Expl	MAT	8011	0.18	0.14	0.16	–	0.02
Tres-Or Res	TRS	7533	0.04	0.03	0.04	+	0.01
Aurcana Corp	AUN	6074	1.09	1.01	1.02	–	0.02
Mustang Minls	MUM	5621	0.04	0.03	0.04		0
Castillian Res	CT	5584	0.04	0.04	0.04		0
Argonaut Expl	AGA	5384	0.03	0.02	0.03	–	0.01

TSX-V greatest percentage change

		Volume	Week  October 29 – November 2
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Santa Fe Metls	SFM	2039	0.04	0.02	0.03	+	150
Beatrix Vent	BXV	17	0.05	0.02	0.05	+	150
New Guinea Gld	NGG	2122	0.01	0.01	0.01	+	100
Highbank Res	HBK	273	0.06	0.04	0.06	+	100
Sheltered Oak	OAK	1792	0.01	0.01	0.01	+	100
Takara Res	TKK	516	0.02	0.01	0.02	+	100
Red Mile Mnls	RDM	26	0.05	0.04	0.05	+	80
Canadn Plat	CPC	343	0.1	0.05	0.1	+	72.7
Goldrea Res	GOR	70	0.03	0.03	0.03	+	66.6
Golden Dory Rs	GDR	519	0.05	0.04	0.05	+	66.6
Odin Mng & Exp	ODN	100	0.05	0.05	0.05	–	50
Auramex Res	AUX	34	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
La Quinta Res	LAQ	54	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
Electra Gold	ELT	25	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
Menika Mining	MML	664	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	50
Mill City Intl	MC	10	0.05	0.03	0.03	–	50
Hudson River M	HRM	667	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	50
Swift Res	SWR	2516	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	50
Green Valley M	GVY	15	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
Viper Gold	VPR	16	0.06	0.04	0.04	–	41.6

TSX-V greatest value change

		Week  October 29 – November 2
		Change	Close	Change
Lumina Copper	LCC	151001	10.01	+	0.76
Newstrike Cap	NES	1050492	2.63	+	0.43
Athabasca Mnls	ABM	2688523	2.21	+	0.36
West High Yld	WHY	251473	0.79	+	0.24
Pac Booker Min	BKM	49561	3.84	+	0.22
Probe Mines	PRB	1793240	1.9	+	0.2
Colombian Mins	CMJ	360415	0.47	+	0.15
Northern Vertx	NEE	256475	1.25	+	0.15
West Cirque Rs	WCQ	15250	0.4	+	0.15
Dakar Res	DKR	23000	0.4	+	0.14
Chesapeake Gld	CKG	56032	9.11	–	0.33
Maudore Minls	MAO	62900	2.8	–	0.26
Sandstorm Gld	SSL	939789	13.5	–	0.16
Atac Res	ATC	1014542	2.15	–	0.16
EurOmax Res	EOX	144757	0.9	–	0.15
Energold Drill	EGD	114778	3.51	–	0.13
Tirex Res	TXX	1088026	0.7	–	0.12
Reservoir Mnls	RMC	732322	3.1	–	0.11
Mirasol Res	MRZ	98791	2.05	–	0.1
Anfield Nickel	ANF	147815	3.7	–	0.1

U.S. markets

U.S. markets were closed for a historic two-day period as one of the most damaging storms ever to strike the Northeast U.S. left more than 100 people dead. When the markets reopened they initially posted gains on news that employers had added 171,000 people to their non-farm payrolls in October, but slipped again in the uncertainty ahead of the Nov. 6 U.S. presidential election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14.05 points, or 0.12%, to 13,093.16, while the S&P 500 posted a slight uptick with a 2.26-point, or 0.16% gain, to 1,414.20. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index lost 3.76 points, or 2.06%, to close at 178.96.

NovaCopper posted the greatest percentage jump of the trading week, rising 10.8% to US$2.55 per share on the back of positive drill results from the South Reef zone on its Bornite concession. Bornite is one of three volcanogenic-massive sulphide deposits that make up the company’s Upper Kobuk copper project in northwest Alaska. Notable intercepts included 8.2 metres grading 7.91% copper, 5.3 metres of 4.08% copper, 17.5 metres of 5.10% copper and 31.2 metres of 6.96% copper.

Rio Tinto climbed US$1.16 to US$51.12 per share on no news, but ahead of its Nov. 5 announcement that its Oyu Tolgoi mine has signed a binding agreement with a Chinese power company for supplying electricity. The agreement means the company is on track to bring the copper-gold mine’s first phase of production by mid-2013. Rio Tinto and its partners have invested almost US$6 billion in the project, and completed it within 28 months.

Alpha Natural Resources was the most actively traded stock, ending 35¢ higher at US$9.06 per share. On Nov. 2, the leading U.S. coal producer reported a third-quarter loss of US$46 million, or US21¢ per diluted share, compared with net income of US$63 million, or US28¢ per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter. In September the company announced a plan to cut its annualized production rate by an extra 16 million tons, about 50% of which will come from the Powder River basin, where it plans to adjust production to match committed and priced volumes for 2013.

U.S. most active issues

		Volume	Week  October 29 – November 2
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Alpha Nat Res*	ANR	81388	9.71	8.43	9.06	+	0.35
Arch Coal*	ACI	48102	8.79	7.88	8.26	+	0.17
Alcoa*	AA	47534	8.82	8.56	8.65	+	0.03
Barrick Gold*	ABX	46414	40.8	35.37	35.38	–	3.8
Freeport McMo*	FCX	39207	40.84	38.84	39.26	+	0.19
Kinross Gold*	KGC	27464	10.07	9.3	9.37	–	0.27
Peabody Enrgy*	BTU	24830	29.84	27.69	28.15	+	0.02
Newmont Mng*	NEM	24569	54.96	48.72	48.74	–	4.57
Cliffs Nat Rs*	CLF	20913	38.36	36.12	36.27	–	0.22
Hecla Mining*	HL	15059	6.7	6.31	6.35	–	0.12

U.S. greatest percentage change

		Volume	Week  October 29 – November 2
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
NovaCopper*	NCQ	524	2.59	2.17	2.55	+	10.8
China Shen Zh*	SHZ	161	0.31	0.24	0.29	+	9.4
Taseko Mines*	TGB	1833	3.2	2.66	3.06	+	9.2
Thompson Crk*	TC	677	2.94	2.62	2.89	+	9
Yanzhou Coal*	YZC	755	15.92	14.83	15.58	+	8.8
Timmins Gold*	TGD	895	3.24	2.84	3.01	+	8.6
El Capitan Pr*	ECPN	675	0.33	0.29	0.32	+	6.6
Teck Res B*	TCK	8243	34.26	31.45	33.19	+	6.5
North Am En P*	NOA	75	3.1	2.8	3.05	+	6.2
Mag Silver*	MVG	56	13.17	12.23	13	+	6
Dominion Mnls*	DMNM	20	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	82.7
Patriot Gold*	PGOL	14	0.2	0.19	0.19	–	15.9
Timberline Rs*	TLR	389	0.4	0.33	0.35	–	15.6
Crosshair Eny*	CXZ	243	0.14	0.1	0.13	–	13.3
Alderon Irn O*	AXX	49	1.7	1.49	1.51	–	12.2
Cornerstone C*	CTNXF	10	0.05	0.05	0.05	–	11.6
Canarc Res*	CRCUF	20	0.15	0.13	0.13	–	10
Barrick Gold*	ABX	46414	40.8	35.37	35.38	–	9.7
Golden Star*	GSS	6325	2.09	1.86	1.9	–	9
Newmont Mng*	NEM	24569	54.96	48.72	48.74	–	8.5

U.S. greatest value change

		Week  October 29 – November 2
		Change	Close	Change
Teck Res B*	TCK	8242885	33.19	+	2.05
Cabot Corp*	CBT	1760651	36.88	+	1.54
Yanzhou Coal*	YZC	755011	15.58	+	1.26
Rio Tinto*	RIO	1358946	51.12	+	1.16
Agrium*	AGU	544151	105.78	+	1.03
Coeur d Alene*	CDE	5093251	31.14	+	0.87
Compass Mnls*	CMP	255798	77.87	+	0.87
Mag Silver*	MVG	55775	13	+	0.74
BHP Billi-BBL*	BBL	1990121	64.32	+	0.64
Pan Am Silver*	PAAS	6426760	21.75	+	0.45
Newmont Mng*	NEM	24568632	48.74	–	4.57
Barrick Gold*	ABX	46414446	35.38	–	3.8
Allied Nevada*	ANV	449944	33.85	–	2.79
Agnico-Eagle*	AEM	5279585	52.91	–	2.72
Randgold Res*	GOLD	1250214	116.66	–	1.32
Molycorp*	MCP	14406055	9.83	–	0.84
New Gold*	NGD	8580310	10.78	–	0.83
Alliance Rs P*	ARLP	208307	64.27	–	0.67
Goldcorp*	GG	14589535	43.14	–	0.6
Central Fund*	CEF	2818300	21.72	–	0.46