GOLD FUNDS MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — EASTERN MARKETS — Rising metal prices spur rally in mining stocks

Gold Funds as of June 25, 1999

BGRCentral

Net Value$12.905.41

Price$8.90$5.400

Discount31.01%0.2%

Value$95,096,000$103,211,658

.ZE.N7

Both gold and base metal stocks posted strong gains during the shortened June 23-28 report period as metal prices showed renewed vigour.

Among the precious metals, gold rose $2.10 to US$260.80 per oz. on the London morning fix of June 29 while silver climbed 8 cents to US$5.15 per oz. Platinum remained unchanged at US$347.50 per oz. as palladium sunk $7.50 to US$322.50 per oz.

In response to the flicker of life from gold, the TSE gold and precious metals index increased 4.7% to 5,036.95, with all of Canada’s major gold producers posting strong gains: Barrick Gold was up $1.20 to $26.65; Placer Dome rose 85 cents to $16.45; Kinross Gold gained 15 cents to $2.45; Cambior eased up 35 cents to hit $4.60; and TVX Gold rose a dime to $1.39.

Royalty twins Franco-Nevada Mining and Euro-Nevada Mining announced they would merge to create the world’s fifth-largest gold company, to be named Franco-Nevada Mining. In response, the former fell 40 cents to $22.35 while the latter rose 25 cents to $17.35.

Copper led the base metals during the period, with prices rising 4 cents to US70 cents per lb. Among the purest copper plays, Rio Algom rose 90 cents to $20.25, Aur Resources climbed 44 cents to $2.60 and Noranda was up 40 cents to $19.20.

Nickel prices also continued to climb for another week, rising 4 cents to US$2.52 per lb. Canada’s nickel miners all showed advances: Inco rose 30 cents to $25.05; Falconbridge was up 45 cents to $20.20; and Sherritt International climbed 20 cents to $3.40.

Although zinc continued to flounder at US47 cents per lb., the other base metal miners still showed comparable gains: Teck’s B shares rose 70 cents to close at $11.60; Cominco rose 45 cents to $24; Boliden gained 5 cents to reach $3.40; and Breakwater Resources rose 14 cents to $2.39.

Topping the most-active list was Greenstone Resources, which shot up 8 cents to 23 cents. The junior once again shuffled its management, with Allen Gordon stepping down as president to be replaced by former vice-president Randy Martin. Greenstone also renewed its shareholder rights protection plan in case a competitor suddenly develops an appetite for the debt-plagued company.

Agnico-Eagle Mines soared $1 to $8.65 as the gold miner confirmed that it would proceed with plans to expand its Laronde operations in Quebec to a 5,000-ton daily capacity, nearly tripling its current gold production rate.

Aber Resources climbed $2 to $12.75 as rumours swirled that Franco-Nevada was acquiring shares. At the Diavik project, partners Aber and Rio Tinto will soon begin tendering contracts and purchase orders for next year’s construction season. Also, a study of Diavik filed by a federal environmental agency is now open to public comment until July 22.