MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — U.S. MARKETS — Slumping prices hurt producers

The Dow Jones Industrial average fell 112 points (or 1.3%) during the report period ended Aug. 25, closing at 8,602.65.

Slumping commodity prices, particularly for copper, continued their downward pressure on mining issues during the week. Stockpiles of the red metal at the London Metal Exchange increased by 23,000 tonnes, sending copper producers falling.

Phelps Dodge, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, suffered the most, dropping $4 (or about 7%) to close at US$51.56 per share. Asarco fell $1.19 to a new low of US$19.06, while its 54%-owned subsidiary, Southern Peru Copper, closed down $1.75 to a new low of US$10.44.

Denver-based Cyprus Amax Minerals followed suit, shedding 87 cents to a new low of US$10.44. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold did likewise, losing 69 cents on Class A shares and 50 cents on Class B shares, to close at US$12.19 and US$12.81, respectively.

Among gold companies, not all the news was bad. Shares of Battle Mountain Gold perked up 31 cents to close at US$4.81, and American depository receipts of Rio Tinto jumped 75 cents to close at US$42.25. However, Homestake Mining lost 44 cents to close at US$10.50, and Coeur d’Alene Mines fell $1 to close at a new low of US$5.44.

On the American Stock Exchange, Getchell Gold tested a new low by dropping 69 cents to close at US$11.25, and Apex Silver Mines shed 50 cents to close at US$8.25. However, platinum-palladium producer Stillwater Mining gained 38 cents to finish the week at US$25.88.

On the Nasdaq, shares of Royal Gold climbed 24 cents to US$4.12, while Lihir Gold lost 76 cents to close at US$22.62.