US markets finish higher, March 28-April 1

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s remarks last week that the central bank should take a “cautious” approach to raising interest rates, buoyed markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.58% to 17,792.75, while the S&P 500 Index climbed 1.81% to 2,072.78. Gold advanced US$5.70 per oz. to finish the week at US$1,221.90 per oz., which drove up the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index by 3.32% to 69.72. The price of oil slipped, after Saudi Arabia said it will only freeze its oil output if Iran and other major producers agree to do the same. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell about 6% during the week, finishing at US$38.67 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Kinross Gold announced that it will proceed with the Phase One expansion at its Tasiast mine in Mauritania. Phase One is expected to increase mill throughput capacity from the current 8,000 tonnes per day to 12,000 tonnes per day, while trimming Tasiast’s operating costs and increasing production. The first phase is expected to reach full production by the end of Q1 2018, with estimated capital expenditures of about US$300 million. Kinross also released details of a prefeasibility study for Phase Two, which contemplates installing additional mill throughput of 18,000 tonnes per day for a total combined capacity of 30,000 tonnes per day. Shares of Kinross climbed 15.2% to US$3.48.

Silver Wheaton slipped US82¢ to US$16.41. The company announced a bought-deal financing in which a syndicate of underwriters led by RBC will buy 30.12 million common shares at US$16.60 per share for proceeds of about US$500 million. In addition, the underwriters have the option to acquire up to an additional 4.52 million shares at the same price for 30 days after the deal closes. If the option is exercised, proceeds will rise to US$575 million. The funds will repay debt that was drawn on the company’s US$2 billion revolving credit facility in November 2015 for the US$900 million purchase of a silver stream on the Antamina mine in Peru.

Lower potash prices (around US$290 per tonne) have hurt fertilizer giants Agrium and Mosaic. Shares of Agrium fell US$1.09 to US$88.46 and those of Mosaic were down US$0.42 to US$26.84, on no corporate news.