Trading Summary (March 07, 2002)

The Toronto Stock Exchange managed to tack on 13.85 points to hit 7,958.1 despite a 234.08-point or 4% drop by the Gold and Precious Minerals subindex. The base metal issues nearly joined the other miners edging up just 7.4 points to 4,773.08. Not surprising gold slipped US$3.40 to US$290.10 per oz. in New York. The base metals were higher across the board at the London Metal Exchange.

Placer Dome was the most traded mining issues on the TSE falling 78 to $16.65. Barrick Gold was the next miner in line dropping $1.19 to $27.57. Kinross Gold managed to crack the TSE’s top ten, but dropped 11 to $1.60.

Eldorado Gold lost a nickel or almost 7% to 68 after posting a net loss of $3.9 million (or 4 per share) on revenue of $33.5 million, compared with a year-ago profit of $1.1 million (a penny per share) on $51.5 million.

River Gold Mines reported record gold production, plus a tidy profit for 2001 on Wednesday, the company’s stock climbed a nickel to $2.

Rio Narcea Gold slid a dime or 11.1% to 80. The company announced plans to raise $6.4 million via a special warrants offering slated to close by Mar. 27, 2002. Proceeds will go toward working capital.

Canada’s busiest base metal miner was Inco, 40 higher at $30.05 on just fewer than 1.5 million shares. Zinc miner Breakwater Resources put in one of the best percentage gains rising 4 or 14.3% to 32.

One of few other gainers, Sherritt International added 24 to make $4.60. Sherritt recently recorded a net loss of $9.2 million (or 15 per diluted share) for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2001, on the backs of a $23.4-million, fourth-quarter writedown related to its stake in problem-plagued Aussie nickel miner Anaconda Nickel combined with a $6.8-million writedown on some oil properties in Spain.Canada’s junior exchange continued to build momentum with advancers leading decliners by a 223-to-189 margin. The S&P-CDNX Composite Index gained 16.10 points, or 1.4% to close at 1169.79.

Hornby Bay Exploration topped the most actively traded chart among junior explorers losing 2 to close at 21 on 820,000 shares. The company is running a geophysical program on its wholly owned East Clavos and Pipestone gold properties some 20 km northeast of Timmins, Ontario.

Shares in Francisco Gold gave back some of yesterday’s $4.25 gain, losing 35 to close at $12.45 on a volume of 431,160. Stock in the junior soared on news that Toronto-listed Glamis Gold has offered to take over the company in an all share deal valued at about $205 million.

Despite announcing that no material change is taking place, shares in Kensington Resources continued to move higher. Diamond recovery results form ten large diameter boreholes at the Fort la Corne diamond project in Saskatchewan are expected to be in hand sometime in the first quarter. Kensington ended the day up 8 to $1.05 on 311,890 shares.

Rubicon Minerals gained 2 to end the day at $1.15 on 209,938 shares. The junior recently picked up gold properties in central Newfoundland and has the drill rig turning on its Red Lake gold properties in Ontario.