Trading Summary (November 12, 2003)

Fueled partly by gains in resource stocks, the Toronto Stock Exchange composite index edged ahead 25.09 points yesterday to finish at 7,797.33. The base metal group was up 1.28 points, at 186.49, while the golds finished 11.85 points stronger at 217.69.

Queenstake Resources was the most active resource issue, rising a dime as about 13.7 million shares changed hands. The heavy trading volumes undoubtedly reflect the recent lifting of trading restrictions on 200 million shares that were issued earlier this year in connection with the company’s acquisition of the Jerritt Canyon mine in Nevada.

Also up on heavy volume was Asia Pacific Resources, though the attraction was triggered by news. In fact, the last time that the company reported anything to the market was in early Sept., when Richard Knight resigned as a non-executive director in order to assume the role of Inco‘s managing director in Australia. Asia Pacific’s main asset is the Udon Thani potash deposit in northeast Thailand. Its shares closed up two pennies, at 9.

Exall Resources jumped 194%, or 35, after releasing results from a second phase of drilling at the Gold Eagle project in Red Lake, Ont. The best result came in at 9.23 oz. over 2.6 ft., similar to those found at the producing High Grade zone of Goldcorp. Vancouver-listed Southern Star can earn a half-stake in the property by spending $2 million over 2 years, plus paying cash and issuing shares.

Profit-taking continued to overrun Ivanhoe Mines, which slipped another 20 as 2.7 million shares changed hands. The company has been spiraling downwards over the past few days, triggered in part by the release of a Forbes article on the company’s activities in Mongolia and its chairman, Robert Friedland. Ivanhoe finished the day at $10.95, for a loss of 23% since Nov. 4.

Canada’s junior exchange resumed an upward trajectory helped by a surging gold price. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index ended the day 11.81 points, or 0.74% higher and closed at 1,614.29.

Investors gobbled up shares in American Bonanza Gold Mining following the initial results from an ongoing 9,000 ft underground drilling program on the D zone on the Copperstone gold project in Arizona. The junior drilled the first two holes of the latest program into the western margin of the D zone, with hole 1 failing to cut any significant values and hole 2 yielding a high value of 0.31 oz gold per ton over 4.5 ft. The third hole returned 40 ft grading 1.2 oz gold. Included in this interval was a higher-grade section running 2.3 oz gold over 18 ft. American Bonanza ended the day at 45, up 6 on 7.66 million shares traded.

Making a big percentage move, Southern Star Resources added 32.5 to close at 52 on 2.65 million shares traded. The company, along with joint venture partner Exall Resources tabled the initial assay results of the Phase II follow up drill program on the Gold Eagle property near Red Lake, Ontario. Partial results from hole 7 collared in the recently discovered Western Extension zone returned up to 9.2 oz gold per ton over 2.6 ft.

Freewest Resources ended the day flat at 31 on 2.3 million shares traded. The company has been working the Larose property some 120 km west of Thunder Bay, in the Shebandowan Greenstone belt of northwestern Ontario. The 100%-owned property contains a newly discovered high-grade auriferous corridor; known as the Main Zone, initially exposed intermittently by Freewest over a 900-metre strike length. Recent prospecting and backhoe stripping by Freewest have increased the strike length of the Main Zone to 1500 metres, with the discovery of the Northwest View occurrence. A total of 17 selected grab samples, collected from the Northwest View occurrence, yielded an average assay of 23.85 grams gold per tonne.