Trading Summary (September 14, 2001)

A day after being the goats of the market, the Gold & Precious Minerals and Oil & Gas subindices reversed course and finished alone in the black on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday. The golds rose 222.72 points or 4.3% to 5,364.36 points and the oil stocks gained 96.46 points or 1.1% to 8,941.45 points. The rest of the TSE’s fourteen subindices suffered significant losses. Overall the TSE 300 composite index lost 211.36 points or 3% to end the week at 6,890.90 points.

All of the precious metals ended the week higher in New York. Gold jumped US$6 to US$286 per oz., silver climbed US9 to US$4.30 per oz., platinum gained US$20 to US$470 per oz. and palladium rose US$13 to US$455 per oz.

Not surprisingly Canada’s gold miners were among the TSE’s most active issues. Kinross Gold led the way with nearly 4.2 million shares traded. The issue gained 19 or more than 13% to $1.64, a new 52-wekk high. Placer Dome also attained a new 52-week high at $19.19, 79 higher, on 3.9 million shares. Barrick Gold tacked on $1.05 to hit $27.95 on 2.8 million shares and TVX Gold climbed 4 to 93 on 2.7 million shares.

The base metals were higher across the board on the London Metal Exchange. The TSE’s Metals & Minerals subindex wasn’t able to keep pace falling 68.35 points or 1.8% to 3,698.56. Aluminum giant Alcan was the busiest base metal issue with just more than 1 million shares on the go. The stock dropped 95 to $50.05.

Thanks to falling metal prices, the massive new copper mine at Antamina in north-central Peru has cut its sales forecast for next year. This only two months after shipping its first load of concentrate. Noranda has a 33.75% stake in Antamina; Teck-Cominco has 22.5%. Noranda fell 20 to $15, Teck Cominco stood out managing to tack on 3 to hit $11.35.

Inco dropped 61 to $23.45. Late on Thursday, the nickel giant announced that its exploration camp at Voisey’s Bay will close at the end of September as exploration in the area has wrapped up. The company and government of Nfld. continue closed-door talks aimed at reviving the long-stalled, nickel-copper-cobalt project.

Breakwater Resources slid a nickel or 11% to 41. On Friday, the company released an independent feasibility study, focusing on Zone 97 at its Langlois zinc mine near Val d’Or, Que., which suggests that about $16 million should be spent on the resumption of production.

Canada’s junior exchange drifted lower on weak volume as investors appear to be taking a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the opening of the US markets on Monday. The Canadian Venture Exchange slumped 12.51 points, or 0.4%, to finish the day at 2,880.84. The Mining Index followed suit, losing 30.40 points, or 0.4%, to close at 7,307.66.

GGL Diamond tacked on 3 cents to 17 cents on 408,800 shares. The junior’s joint venture partner De Beers Canada Exploration is exploring the Doyle Lake property in the Northwest Territories.

Investors continued to sell off shares of Radius Exploration following the release of the latest assay results from the Sastre zone on the Tambor gold property in Guatemala. Stock in the Simon Ridgway-led junior lost 8 to close at 35 on a volume of 263,000. Masuparia Gold gained 2 cents to a dime on 248,500 shares. The junior recently inked a deal to earn up to 70% of the Greywacke and Dickens Lake gold properties in northern Saskatchewan.

Poplar Resources lost ground for the second straight day, losing 2 cents to close at 28 cents on a volume of 329,000. The company’s 65%-owned subsidiary is working the Sundsvall diamond and Bottenbacken polymetallic projects, both in Sweden.

Starfield Resources drifted lower, losing 1 cent to close at 44 cents on 113,000 shares. The company has three rigs turning on the Ferguson Lake copper-nickel-cobalt-platinum-palladium project in Nunavut.