Trading Summary (June 25, 2002)

After opening higher, Toronto stocks declined steadily throughout the day to end in the red. The gold index mirrored the yellow metal’s performance dropping 2.69 points or 1.3% to hit 206.13 points. Gold finished the day off US$4.20 per oz. at US$319.70 in New York. The metals & mining index shed 1.07 points to settle at 141.34 points. By day’s end, the S&P/TSX Composite Index had lost 8.13 points to 7,121.8 points.

The usual suspects headed the TSX’s most traded list. TVX Gold lost a nickel to $2.38 on a trading volume of nearly 4.3 million shares. Kinross Gold was right behind falling 4 to $3.70 on about 4.1 million shares. Other busy gold losers were Bema Gold, off 1 to $2.41, Placer Dome, 30 lower at $19.10, and Echo Bay Mines finished 5 poorer at $1.87. Barrick Gold managed to break the trend gaining 20 to $31.30.

Inco grabbed 14 to make $33.14 with less than half a million shares on the go. On Tuesday, the CBC reported that the Labrador Inuit Association and the Innu Nation, two of Labrador’s aboriginal groups, have voted to accept impacts-and-benefits agreements with Inco regarding development of the long-stalled Voisey’s Bay nickel project in that province.

Other base metal miners on the rise were Falconbridge, up 13 to $19.33, Sherritt International, plus 17 to $5.75, a new 52-week high, Aur Resources, 13 higher at $4.78, and Breakwater Resources, which rose for a second day gaining half a penny to 16.5. Alcan was the busiest adding 36 to reach $54.16 on just more than a million shares.

Canada’s junior exchange started the day in the plus column but quickly reversed to end the day solidly in the red. The S&P/TSX Venture composite index lost 8.04 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 1183.35.

American Bonanza Gold Mining continued to be the most heavily traded junior explorer, losing 1 to close at 19 on a heavy 771,711 shares. The company recently raised $2 million to advance the Copperstone gold project in Arizona, which hosts an estimated total resource of 2.1 million tons grading 0.58-oz gold per ton.

International Wayside Gold Mines ended the session flat at 16 on 417,662 shares. The Frank Callaghan-led junior failed to rally following the latest drill results from the Bonanza ledge discovery area near Wells, British Columbia. The on going program is focussing on the northwest extension of the BC vein system and so far has cut up to 22.97 grams gold over 15.5 metres in hole BC02-03.

Transco Resources lost 3 to close at 7 on 300,000 shares. The junior announced plans to issue 500,000 flow through shares priced at 10 each. The funds will be used to continue exploration on its Otish Mountains diamond project in Quebec.

Hunter Dickinson-led Amarc Resources fell 3 to 58 on 212,500 shares. The company has been drilling the Inde gold project in Durango state, Mexico.