Crystallex gains as other golds lose

Broad investor support pushed the Toronto Stock Exchange composite index up 149.70 points over the Sept. 25-Oct. 1 report period. The benchmark finished the week at 6,218.60.

Gold had a rough ride overseas, sinking US$5.10 in London to settle at US$320.40 per oz. on the morning of Oct. 2. Suffering the results were: Meridian Gold, off $3.57 at $27.65; Agnico-Eagle Mines, down $2.10 at $24.38; Placer Dome, $1.83 weaker at $14.27; Kinross Gold, slipping 51 at $3.18; and Goldcorp, off a quarter at $17.35.

Barrick Gold was the biggest casualty, plummeting $4.04 to $24.66. An unexpectedly poor performance in the third quarter has forced the major to lower its 2002 earnings projection to 33-35 per share, excluding unusual adjustments — that’s 7 less than the lower range provided earlier in the year.

While most of the gold-mining sector took a beating, Crystallex International managed to climb 33 to $3.57. The junior announced that “transition arrangements have been substantially completed” at the Las Cristinas project in Venezuela and that the company has taken possession of the Las Cristinas 4, 5, 6 & 7 properties, in accordance with an agreement recently signed with state-owned Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG). Crystallex announced it was undertaking roughly US$15-million worth of private placements consisting of various convertible debentures and warrants. Most of the proceeds are funding the acquisition of Las Cristinas assets from CVG.

Overall, the TSE/S&P Gold Index sank 21.83 points to finish the period at 181.31, or 10.7% lower.

Nickel fared far better than its precious metal cousin, rising 13 to a London morning fix of US$3.06 per lb. on Oct. 2. Even lead, copper and zinc were able to stay the course, and the Diversified Metals & Mining Index ended 4.97 points stronger for it.

Leading the charge were Inco and Cameco, which gained $2.50 and $2.28, respectively, to end the period at $26.80 and $28.50. Ivanhoe Mines and Fording Coal were the only two of the bunch to lose ground, with the latter retreating 3 to $23.33 as it warned that its metallurgical-coal sales volumes for this year will fall by 1 million to 13 million tonnes. Fording blames the decline on two factors: a failure to secure a large sale of metallurgical coal into Turkey, and an overall lower sales outlook. The company says its sales price will be between $62 and $63 per tonne for the year, down from $64 per tonne.

Junior Rex Diamond soared 11 to 55 on news of having raised $1.65 million by privately placing 3 million units at 55 apiece. Some of the proceeds are earmarked for the Loxton alluvial project in South Africa, where a 50-ton-per-hour dense-media-separation plant will be erected. Also, Rex has given a private company the right to mine its Zimmi alluvial diamond property in Sierra Leone in return for a discount on any diamonds produced there.