Trading Summary (February 22, 2002)

The golds stood out on a quiet Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday dropping 99.51 points or 1.6% to end at 5,997.13. The Paper & Forest subindex went the other way gaining 1.2% to 5,470.09. Most of the remaining subindices moved sideways, with six ending in the black. The base metal issues gained 18.54 points to hit 4,568.84. Overall the 300 composite index edged up 8.46 points to end the week at 7,426.6.

South American Gold & Copper vaulted into the TSE top ten traded list gaining 3.5 to 14 with nearly 6.7 million shares changing hands, making it the TSE’s third most traded issue.

The next busiest miner was Placer Dome losing 55 to $18.75 on 2.1 million shares. Unchanged were: TVX Gold at $1.11 with on about 1.9 million shares and Kinross Gold at $1.67 on a handful fewer shares.

Also unchanged at $1.22 was Cambior. On Friday, Cambior and its 65%-owned subsidiary OMAI Gold Mines announced that US$100-million class action proceedings brought in Guyana in connection with the Omai tailings dam failure seven years ago, have been dismissed. Honourable Justice Winston Moore in Guyana, ordered that the action be struck out for repeated failure to file an affidavit by the plaintiffs.

Mid-tier producer Iamgold dropped 9 to $5.28 despite posting record production in 2001. The company’s share of production from the Sadiola and Yatela gold mines (it main assets) in western Mali, reached a record 256,077 oz. in 2001.

Aluminum giant Alcan was the most active base metal miner with just more than 530,000 shares on the go. The stock gained 54 to $63.30. Making news on the day, Inmet Mining fell 7 to $4.53 and Noranda gained 2 to $16.72. The two signed a put-call option on Inmet’s 3.3% interest in free cash flow from the massive Antamina zinc-copper mine in Peru.

Canada’s junior exchange managed to end the week by posting a modest gain on lack-lustre volume. The S&P-CDNX Composite Index tacked on 1.47 points, or 0.1% to close at 1,111.49.

Madison Enterprises ended the day down 1 at 10 on 423,000 shares. The cash-strapped company holds the Mt. Kare gold deposit in Papua New Guinea.

Mano River Resources ended the day unchanged at 5 on 635,000 shares. The junior recommenced diamond exploration in Kono district of Sierra Leone.

Samex Mining tacked on 3 to close at 19 on 372,600 shares. The company recently announced a $300,000 financing to be used on advancing the company’s gold properties in Bolivia.

National Gold lost 3 to close at 37 on 195,100 shares. The junior recently announced a $660,000 financing comprising 2.2 million units priced at 30 each. Alamos Minerals is currently drilling and earning a stake in National Gold’s Salamandra gold property in Mexico.