The most heavily traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange during the Oct. 24-30 report period was Placer Dome, which jumped $1.40 to $18.25 as investors applauded the company for “facing reality” and writing down the rest of its investment in the Getchell gold property in Nevada.
For the third quarter, Placer posted a whopping US$211-million loss as a result of a one-time writedown of US$292 million for Getchell, which it purchased a few years ago for about US$1 billion.
Placer also announced that several upper-level managers will walk the plank, including Ian Austin and James Gowans.
Cambior traded down 1 to 81 before announcing it will acquire Golden Star Resource‘s half interest in the Gross Rosebel property in Suriname plus its other mining and exploration properties in the Guiana Shield. Golden Star shot up 22 to $1.28.
The remaining gold majors ended the period mixed: Barrick Gold rose 65 to $24.95 after announcing flat earnings and revenue; Franco-Nevada Mining rose 71 to $22.51; Kinross Gold dropped 5 to hit $1.33; and TVX Gold declined 4 to 66.
The mid-tier producers had an impressive week as gold rebounded above US$280 per oz.: Agnico-Eagle Mines jumped 65 to $15.50; Goldcorp rocketed $1.63 to $18.73; Meridian Gold soared $2.75 to $17; and Glamis Gold rose 49 to $5.59.
The base metal producers continued to shrivel in response to declining metal prices: Noranda sank 83 to a new 52-week low of $13.50; Teck Cominco‘s B shares eased up just 6 to $10.11; Inco dropped 96 to $21.74; Falconbridge declined 34 to $14.26; and Boliden fell 1 to 25.
Tottering on the brink of financial oblivion, Breakwater Resources traded down 1 to 18 as it announced that, owing to depressed metal prices, the money-losing Nanisivik zinc mine in Nunavut will be closing ahead of schedule next September.
Aur Resources jumped 35 to $2.75 as it released impressive financial and production results. The mid-tier copper miner netted more than US$16 million on 159 million lbs. of attributable copper production in the first nine months of the year, far more than the comparable period of 2000. So far this year, Aur has generated US$52 million in cash flow, more than enough to satisfy its financial needs.
The opposite was the case for First Quantum Minerals, which fell 10 to $2.30 after announcing a US$2.5-million loss for the 9-month period ended Aug. 31. The loss compares with net earnings of US$3.4 million in the comparable period of 2000. On the bright side, revenue climbed 82% year-over-year to US$105 million as a result of the acquisition, in March 2000, of the Nkana and Mufulira copper mines in Zambia. Working capital also rose, to US$23.6 million from a deficit of US$5.3 million at the start of the financial year.
Be the first to comment on "Placer buoyed by Getchell writedown"