Toronto Stock Exchange, Jan. 13-17

Higher gold prices — up US$5.50 during the week to US$1,254.10 per oz. — helped lift the S&P/TSX Composite Index 1.02%, or 140.68 points, to 13,888.21. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index climbed 6.67%, or 11.12 points, to 177.81; and the S&P/TSX Capped Metals & Mining Index rose 9.81%, or 76.46 points, to 856.21. The loonie weakened against the U.S. dollar, sliding 0.7% during the trading week, marking a four-year low against the U.S. currency.

Goldcorp’s $2.6-billion offer for Osisko Mining and its Malartic gold mine in Quebec sent Osisko’s shares up $1.31 to $6.47, and made it the week’s most actively traded stock, with 90 million shares changing hands. Under Goldcorp’s bid, Osisko shareholders would get 0.146 of a Goldcorp share, plus $2.26 in cash for each Osisko share held, for a total value of $5.95 per share — a 15% premium to Osisko’s Jan. 10 closing price, and a 28% premium over its 20-day, volume-weighted average price.  Goldcorp shares rose 84¢ to $25.43. Osisko’s directors recommended rejecting the bid on Jan. 20.

Teranga Gold was the second most active stock of the week with 38 million shares trading hands. The company announced that it has completed its US$135-million streaming transaction with Franco-Nevada Corp., and closed its acquisition of the balance of the shares it did not already own in the Oromin Joint Venture Group. Teranga also retired US$30 million of a US$60-million debt facility with Macquarie Bank. Teranga’s shares closed 6¢ higher at 65¢ per share.

A ban on nickel-ore exports from Indonesia effective Jan. 19 helped lift prices of the metal and the fortunes of nickel producers First Nickel, First Quantum Minerals and Lundin Mining. Shares of First Quantum advanced $1.70 to $20.21 on no company-related news, as did those of Lundin Mining, which climbed 32¢ to $5.04, also on no news. First Nickel jumped 60% to 4¢ per share on production results and 2014 guidance for its Lockerby mine in northern Ontario’s Sudbury basin, which reached full production in 2013. The company expects Lockerby to produce 14 million contained lb. nickel and 7 million contained lb. copper this year. Last year the mine turned out 12.8 million contained lb. nickel and 7.5 million contained lb. copper. As of Dec. 31, it had unrestricted cash of $3.5 million and total liquidity of $8.5 million, which includes a revolving-credit facility.

Capstone Mining advanced 28¢ to $3.19 per share. The company provided guidance for 2014 for its Cozamin copper–silver–zinc–lead mine in Mexico and its Minto copper–gold–silver mine in the Yukon. It will provide guidance for its third mine, Pinto Valley, a copper–molybdenum mine in Arizona, before March. Cozamin and Minto produced a 37,500 tonnes of copper concentrates in 2013, and the company forecasts that figure should rise to 38,500 tonnes in 2014.

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