Trading Summary (February 20, 2002)

The base metal issues gained 54.11 points or 1.2% to end at 4,508 points, and lead just two advancing subindices on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The golds joined most of the other subgroups dropping 23.92 points to finish at 5,819.89. Overall the TSE 300 composite index slid 39.18 points to 7,431.8.

Similarly, gold continued to retreat from the US$300-per-oz. mark dropping US$1.709 to end at US$292 per oz. in New York. The rest of the shinnies followed suit.

Placer Dome saw the most traffic among the mining stock gaining 27 to $18.27 with nearly 4.8 million shares traded. TVX Gold was next in line dropping a nickel to $1.08 on about 3.4 million shares. Barrick Gold rounded out the TSE’s top ten volume leaders losing 7 to $28.28 with about 2.4 million shares changing hands.

Newmont Mining’s Canadian exchangeable shares, which just replaced Franco-Nevada Mining shares, surged $7 or 23.5% to $36.80.

In the junior ranks, Campbell Resources gained 4 or 6.7% to 64 after announcing that it has resumed milling of ore from its Joe Mann underground gold mine near Chibougamau, Que. Richmont mines gained 16 or 6.1% to $2.80 after posting net earnings of $518,090, or 3 per share for 2001.

Teck Cominco’s B shares saw the most action among the sideways-trading base metal issues rising 4 to $13.75. Others making small gains were: Inco, plus 4 to $28.69; Noranda, up 3 to $16.43; and Alcan, which gained $1.35 to $62.05.

Canada’s junior exchange continued to lose ground on moderate volume. The S&P-CDNX Composite Index dropped 6.93 points, or 0.6% to close at 1,110.02.

National Gold topped the most actively traded chart among junior explorers losing 5 to close at 40 on just over 1 million shares. The junior’s joint venture partner Alamos Minerals is drilling the Salamandra gold property in Mexico. The partners have their sights on developing the Estrella zone. Alamos ended the day at 39, down 4 on the day.

Canabrava Diamond and Paramount Ventures & Finance failed to get a boost on news that drilling is underway on the Groundhog Project in northern Ontario. Shares in Paramount fell 5 to 10 on a volume 607,000, while Canabrava added 1 to 39 on weak volume. Fifteen targets have been slated for drill testing over the next four to six weeks.

TNR Resources added 2 to close at 23 on 486,000 shares. Stock in the company has traded heavily over the past four sessions on news that it inked a deal with Toronto-listed NovaGold Resources to earn a 50% stake in the Rock Creek and Shotgun gold deposits in Alaska.

Starfield Resources continued to lose ground, dropping 5 to 72 on 375,000 shares. The company is about to resume drilling on the Ferguson Lake nickel-copper-platinum-palladium project in Nunavut.