Trading Summary (February 10, 2003)

The Toronto Stock Exchange was lower today, with the TSX Composite index down 33.63 points to 6,444.11. Most sectors saw their indexes fall, but the golds outpaced the whole market with the index falling 7.18 points, or 3.7% of value, to 185.84.

Gold prices took a nosedive in New York trading Monday, having been fixed at US$370.50 per oz. in the London afternoon session. “Good” news from the Middle East — the entirely predictable Iraqi “permission” for overflights in aid of United Nations arms inspections — was tagged as the proximate reason for the price drop, but there were strong indications that gold speculators had taken profits out after gold’s nearly three-week run. Four of the ten most active stocks on the TSX were on the gold index, another was a junior gold producer, and yet another a junior gold explorer.

The gold stocks were lower across the board, though the biggest (and most thoroughly hedged) were hurt the least. Barrick Gold, which saw 2.2 million shares traded, was off 45 at $24.60, while Placer Dome fell back 48 to $16.67 on a volume of 2.1 million.

It was the mid-tier that really suffered, with Kinross Gold down 68 at $10.57, Glamis Gold off $1.03 at $17.25, and Agnico Eagle Mines sliding $1.14 to $20.21. Kinross also traded heavily, with 2.1 million shares moving. Bema Gold took the pennant for volume, but was in the cellar on performance; 2.4 million shares rode the tape as the stock fell 15 to $1.78.

The diversified metals and mining index was up 0.55 point at 130.95, in a mixed day for the base metals and other miners. Inco was up 45 at $31.35 and Teck Cominco B-series added 15 to finish at $12.30, while Sherritt International fell 20 to $4.10 and Aur Resources backed off 7 to $3.65.

LionOre Mining International was socked again, falling 5 to $5.30 over production uncertainties at its Tati nickel mine in Botswana. The BCL smelter at Selebi-Phikwe will be shut down for five to six weeks for repairs following a boiler tube leak and the subsequent discovery of a structural failure in the furnace uptake shaft.

BCL has rescheduled maintenance that was originally to take place during a planned shutdown in 2004. LionOre plans to take maximum advantage of the enforced two-week suspension in the Tati mine’s production by rescheduling some maintenance work in the mill; it hopes to find another smelter to take its concentrates temporarily, or will stockpile concentrates for BCL’s restart.

Canada’s junior exchange started the trading week off on a sour note as investors bailed out of gold-related issues. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index lost 22.43 points, or 2.01% and closed at 1,094.74.

Cantex Mine Development ended the session flat at 5 on 691,100 shares. The Charles Fipke-led junior’s primary project lies in the northwest part of the Republic of Yemen. The company slaso holds ground in Nevada, where Cantex has a 51% interest in 9 gold claims and a 10.6% stake in 6,043 sq km in western Greenland.

Shares in American Bonanza Gold Mining fell with the price of bullion. Stock in the company added 4 to close at 31 on a volume of over 1 million. Stock in the junior has run up over the past week on news that Toronto-listed Gold Corp has taken a 10.4% stake in the company.

Investors snapped up shares in Anooraq Resources following news of a resource calculation on its Platreef property in South Africa. The Hunter Dickinson-led junior tabled an inferred resource of 99.4 million tonnes grading 0.16% nickel, 0.1% copper, 0.6 gram platinum, 0.63 gram palladium, 0.012 gram rhodium and 0.06 gram gold per tonne for its Northern block target. Anooraq ended the day at 66, up 11 on 542,900 shares.