US markets fall, May 11-15: Franco-Nevada, Hecla, Coeur, Newmont

As decisions about reopening businesses continued to vary from state to state in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.73% to 23,685.42, while the S&P 500 dropped 2.31% to 2863.70. Meanwhile, gold maintained its lustre amid the COVID-19 pandemic as it continued to rise, ending the week at US$1,742.20 per oz., a gain of US$39.30 per oz., or 2.26%.

Franco-Nevada continued to gain market value, as its shares climbed US$7.28 to close at US$150.66. This comes after Franco-Nevada announced it had entered into an agreement with Australian mining firm SolGold, which is developing its flagship Alpala copper-gold project in northern Ecuador. Under the agreement between the companies, Franco-Nevada acquired a 1% net smelter return royalty with reference to all minerals produced at the Ecuadorean project in return for US$100 million.

As silver prices have increased, Hecla Mining saw its shares rise 33¢ to US$2.99. This comes after the precious metal mining firm’s share value was reduced as a result of their mining operations being affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The company posted revenues of US$136.93 million for the quarter ended March 31, down from year-ago revenues of US$152.62 million. Hecla’s operations include silver mines in Alaska, Idaho and Mexico, as well as gold mines in Quebec and Nevada. The company’s stated 2020 reserves are 212 million oz. silver and 2.7 million oz. gold.

Coeur Mining saw its shares surge by US93¢ to close the week at US$5.10, as it prepared to restart active mining, processing and exploration activities at its Palmarejo gold-silver complex in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. This comes as the federal government in Mexico updated its guidance for the mining sector, which is now considered an essential business activity. Coeur has five wholly-owned operations that include the Palmarejo complex, as well as the Rochester silver-gold mine in Nevada, the Kensington gold mine in Alaska, the Wharf gold mine in South Dakota and the Silvertip silver-zinc-lead mine in British Columbia.

Newmont continued to shine, with its shares rising by US$3.35 to US$67.90. This comes as the firm prepares to ramp up production at its Peñasquito mine in Mexico, after the federal government decided mining would be allowed to resume. Newmont said it would take about two weeks to restart operations at Peñasquito and reach stable production values. The site, an open-pit mine and related processing facilities, is located 780 km northwest of Mexico City and produces gold, silver, lead and zinc. Peñasquito is 100%-owned by Newmont with attributable annual gold production of 129,000 ounces.