Trading Summary (October 17, 2002)

The Toronto Stock Exchange rebounded to the tune of 117.13 points on Friday as the gold stocks were left behind. The golds continued their see-sawing dropping 3.66 points or 2.2% to 162.5. The Gold Index’s only company in the red was the Real Estate subindex, which shed 0.62 of a point or 0.6%. In the end, the S&P/TSX Composite Index finished at 6,274.79 points.

Barrick Gold was the only major Canadian gold producer to manage a gain, climbing 14 to $22.70. Placer Dome was the most heavily traded, dropping 23 to $13.13 on a trading volume of about 6.8 million shares. Kinross Gold slipped 19 or 7.5% to $2.62.

TVX Gold slipped $1.36 or 7.5% to $16.75 as its woes in Greece continue. The Associated Press recently reported that Greece’s high court agreed to block TVX’s Stratoni operation amid resident’s concerns of environmental risks. In sympathy, Echo Bay Mines dropped 13 or nearly 9% to $1.34. Echo Bay is the third member of a proposed three-way with Kinross and TVX.

Other mid-tier gold producers to post losses were: Goldcorp, off 81 to $15.04; Meridian Mining, down 6 to $25.74; and Glamis Gold, down 61 to $12.53.

The base metal miners fared better with near gains across the board leading to a 4.4% rise to 117.54 point by the Diversified Metals & Mining Index.

Alcan saw the most action grabbing $1.05 to make $44.01. On Thursday, Alcan tabled plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its Quebec facilities by the end of next year. The aluminum giant’s goal is to drop levels an average of 285,000 tonnes below 1999 levels based on equivalent production capacity.

Inco was the next in trading activity advancing $1.19 to $29.64. The nickel giant recently inked a deal to pick up the 15% interest in the Goro nickel project in New Caledonia that it doesn’t already own. The move is in preparation for the formation of a new partnership with Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining, which has agreed to take a 25% share.

Noranda added 52 to reach $14.97. On Thursday, Reuters reported that the company plans to resume talks with the union at its Horne copper smelter in Quebec. The smelter has been suffering through a four-month-long strike.

Canada’s junior exchange managed to post a rare positive sessions as investors started to nibble on beaten down issues. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index gained 3.36 points or 0.37%, and closed at 903.02.

An update of exploration activities on its Sundsvall diamond project in central Sweden failed to sway investors in Poplar Resources. Shares in the junior lost 1 to close at 7 on 420,140 shares. During July and August, some 401 heavy mineral pan samples were collected from the ground. The results from 102 samples are in with 30 samples showing mineral grains identified as possible kimberlite indicator minerals.

Klondike Gold lost a penny to close at 13 on 203,500 shares. The Richard Hughes led junior is looking for another Sullivan silver-lead-zinc deposit and currently has a rig turning in southeastern British Columbia, near Kimberly.

Kensington Resources added 8 to close at $1 on 198,412 shares. The company has a stake in the Forte a la Corne diamond project in Saskatchewan, where a rig is currently turning.

Continuing to move higher on word that joint venture partner Placer Dome is drilling on the South Carlin project in Nevada, Nevada Pacific Gold gained 5 to close at 44 on 108,000 shares.