US markets end the Oct. 17-21 trading week higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1,447.7 points or 4.9% during the Oct. 17-21 trading week to 31,082.56, and the S&P 500 closed 169.7 points or 4.7%% higher at 3,752.75.

This week’s top mining-focused value gainer was Mosaic Co., which added US$6.24 to close at US$53.10 per share. The crop nutrient producer and distributor’s share price has been on a positive trajectory over the past two weeks after the company said its subsidiary, North American Phosphates, was negatively impacted by damage caused by Hurricane Ian. Significant flooding and high winds were experienced throughout central Florida during the storm, and this caused modest damage to Mosaic Company facilities and supporting infrastructure. Early assessments indicate phosphate production could be down by about 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes, split about evenly between the third and fourth quarters of 2022. Repairs are expected to be completed over the next couple of weeks. In a separate announcement on Oct. 19, Mosaic announced the board had declared a quarterly dividend of US15¢ per share, payable to shareholders of record on Dec. 15. Mosaic has an annualized dividend yield of 1.14%.

Iamgold was this week’s top percentage gainer, adding 31.4% to close at US$1.38. The stock is in play following the company’s Oct. 18 announcement that it had agreed to sell its stake in the Rosebel gold mine in Suriname to Zijin Mining in a deal valued at US$360 million. The Chinese miner will acquire Iamgold’s 95% interest in Rosebel Gold Mines, which owns the Rosebel operation and a 70% participating interest in the Saramacca mine, a satellite for Rosebel. Zijin also assumes Iamgold’s equipment lease liabilities amounting to about US$41 million. The Toronto-based miner revealed in January it was evaluating options for Rosebel and said the mine required material capital investment to address specific challenges. Iamgold said the sale proceeds would be invested in the ongoing construction of the Côté Gold project in Ontario, which is $1.9 billion over its original cost estimate of between US$879 million and US$925 million. The company’s share of the cost overrun is US$1.3 billion.

The week’s most active issue was Vale, with 40.9 million shares changing hands during the week. The company said on Oct. 21 it is reconsidering a spin-off of its base metals business and an eventual public listing. The Brazilian miner had a longstanding plan to sell the unit that was still being considered as recently as 2021. But rather than selling all or part of it, the company is now looking to separate and ring-fence the copper and nickel unit from the iron ore business as the two have different growth prospects, Reuters reported Vale’s CEO, Eduardo Bartolomeo, said at the FT Mining Summit.