Commodities power TSX rebound

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose steadily to end the June 7-13 report period 185.97 points better at 9,839.94, a level not seen since early March. A late rally pushed the gold index 8.75 points higher to 195.45; the yellow metal performed similarly, closing US$3.25 higher at US$429.10 per oz. in London. Canada’s base metal miners showed a 3.58-point gain at 299.03.

EuroZinc Mining edged out Tahera Diamond to finish as the nation’s busiest mining stock, with nearly 10.9 million shares losing a penny to 68. Tahera lost half that to end at 39.5. There was no immediate news out of EuroZinc. Tahera said it is considering consolidating its shares but that such a move would wait until a “momentous” announcement, such as the first trickle of revenue from the advanced Jericho diamond project in Nunavut. Tahera has more than 700 million shares outstanding.

Canada’s major gold producers ended higher across the board. Placer Dome led the way, gaining $1.17 to make $18.64, Kinross Gold rose 26 to $7.19, and Barrick Gold made 93 to reach $29.50. Kinross plans to ask the Ontario Superior Court to extend the deadline for its annual meeting by six months to Dec. 31 as its financial statements are still not in order. The court will hear the application on June 24.

Dofasco jumped $5.04, or nearly 15%, to $38.68, after it said it would consolidate ownership of Quebec Cartier Mining (QMC) by paying Brazil’s CAEMI and Investissement Qubec a total of $306 million. The deal would boost Dofasco’s stake from a third to more than 98.7%.

Investors bailed on Northern Orion Resources, sending the stock down 6 to $2.90. The company has upped the preliminary preproduction capital cost for its Agua Rica copper-gold-molybdenum project in Argentina by about 17% to nearly US$1 billion.

Aber Diamond added $2 to make $36.37 as it more than quadrupled its first-quarter earnings to US$13.6 million. The company also plans to expand the Harry Winston jewelry retailing business to 25 stores over the next 3-5 years. Aber owns 51% of Harry Winston and 40% of the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories.

River Gold Mines soared an impressive 30, or 28.5%, to $1.35. The junior plans a $4-million private placement of up to 4 million units. A unit consists of one share plus half a warrant; a warrant is good for another share at $1.20 per share for one year. Proceeds will be used to deepen the shaft at the Eagle River mine, west of Wawa, Ont.

Also on the rise were: Pioneer Metals, up 28.2% to 29.5; Miramar Mining, 27.7% higher at $1.38; Intrepid Minerals, which gained 26.8% to finish at 52; Virginia Gold Mines, 23.3% higher at $6.77; and Atna Resources, which climbed 18.3% to 84. Virginia continues to return encouraging grades from drilling at its Eleonore property in James Bay. In Nunavut, Miramar’s drills returned some wide swaths of high-grade gold at the Madrid deposit. Farther south, in Nevada, Atna recently blasted the portal opening at the Pinson gold project. About 4,700 metres of underground drilling and 4,900 metres of surface drilling will attempt to delineate reserves.