Trading Summary (January 12, 2004)

It was a relatively low-volume day on the TSX as investors braced themselves for the upcoming round of earnings reports. The S&P/TSX composite index ended the day up 28.18 points, or 0.34%, to 8380.37, with 662 advancers outpacing 611 decliners, and six of the TSX 10 subgroups finishing higher, led by the IT sector.

Both the gold and base metal miners declined after last week’s gains, with the S&P/TSX gold index dropping 2.64 points (1.17%) to 222.76 points and the S&P/TSX mining index falling 3.47 (1.55%) to 220.90 points. Metal prices were generally steady, except for silver, which peaked above US$6.70 per oz. in London trading before closing New York trading at US$6.56 per oz.

The most active mining stocks were: TVI Pacific, which jumped 5 cents, or 16.4%, to 35.5 cents on positive development news from its Canatuan precious metals/polymetallic project in the Philippines; and Constellation Copper, which rose a penny to 14.5 cents after last week reporting long copper-mineralized drill intercepts from its Cashin satellite property, near its Lisbon Valley copper property in Utah.

The top percentage gainer among the miners was Thistle Mining‘s warrants, which soared 2 cents, or 57% to 5.5 cents on no news. Thistle’s common shares were unchanged at 36.5 cents.

A second strong performer was cobalt junior Formation Capital, which shot up 11 cents to 73 cents on no news. Shares used to trade around the 20 cent mark as recently as October 2003.

Leading the TSX’s decliner list was Quebec-based copper-zinc explorer Cancor Mines, which sank 16 cents, or 32%, to 34 cents — giving back all the gains from the previous week.

Canada’s junior exchange started the trading week off by moving solidly higher. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index gained 12.41 points, or 0.69% and closed at 1,816.98.

China Diamond forged ahead to a new 52-week high gaining 9.5 to close at 55 on 3.7 million shares traded. The company, which changed its name from Pan Asia Mining, has a controlling interest in a Sino-Foreign joint venture company in the Shandong Province in the People’s Republic of China. The Joint Venture Company owns and operates the 701 Changma Diamond Mine.

Making a big percentage move, Rock Resources added 3.5 to close at 9 on 2.9 million shares traded. The junior holds the Fyre Lake project in the Yukon, which has a proven reserve of 3.2 million tonnes plus a drill indicated resource of 2.1% copper, 0.11% cobalt and 0.73 gram gold.

Spider Resources added 2 to close at 15.5 on 2.2 million shares traded. The junior holds a stake in the McFauld’s Lake property in the James Bay Lowlands of northeastern Ontario. Diagem International Resource bought KWG Resources’ 8% stake in property by agreeing to spend $2 million on exploration. Drilling on the project resumed last July to follow up on encouraging sulphide mineralization originally cut by De Beers in 2002. The diamond explorer inadvertently hit base metal mineralization while drill-testing 13 diamond targets at the Spider 3 project. One of the reverse-circulation holes intersected an 8-metre sulphide section of intermediate-to-mafic volcanics running 1.61% copper, 0.34% zinc and 0.13% lead, plus 0.13 gram gold and 9.9 grams silver per tonne, at the bottom of the hole. The 8-metre section included half a metre of 7.09% copper, 4.67% zinc, 2.68% lead, 0.76 gram gold and 150.6 grams silver.