Market news

Toronto Stock Exchange

The next round of quantitative easing (QE) finally came, and it was good news for commodity prices and the commodity-heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index, which grew by 242 points to 12,499.47 for the period.

The announcement of a third round of QE pushed gold to a seven-month high as it touched US$1,775 per oz. late in the period, before settling back and closing at US$1,772.70 — a US$34 increase from the start of the period. The move helped miners, and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index climbed 19 points to finish at 346.28.

The Fed’s announcement detailed that — unlike prior rounds of QE — purchases would be open-ended, meaning the Fed will keep buying mortgage-backed securities until economic growth is evident. It also said that near-zero interest rates would be extended until mid-2015.

The news helped diversified miners, and the S&P/TSX Capped Diversified Metals & Mining Index rose 82 points to 997.20, with copper prices up US19¢ to US$3.83 per lb.

The stronger gold environment couldn’t stave off the sellers of Great Basin Gold’s stock. The company’s fortunes floundered as it lost another 67% of its market cap, with its shares closing the period at just 8¢. Great Basin shares have fallen 95% over the past year, with the latest drop coming after the Toronto Stock Exchange assigned a “delisting” review. Great Basin suspended operations at its Burnstone gold mine in South Africa due to a lack of funds, but it needs to raise $30 million to $40 million to cover Burnstone’s immediate closure costs. The company has 30 days to get into compliance with its listing requirements.

Aureus Mining found a way to capitalize on investor enthusiasm for the yellow metal. The Liberia-focused gold explorer discovered three mineralized zones at its Ndablama project in the country, with each zone hosting multiple, high and low-grade results. The drill returned grades ranging from 1.1 to 7.6 grams per tonne, with widths of 2.2 to 19 metres. Aureus shares were up 34% to $1.23.

More signs that it was moving towards production was enough to lift Curis Resources’ fortunes. The company’s share price grew by 57% to 77¢ after it announced key hirings that would help develop its Florence Copper project in Arizona. Bruce Marsh, an engineer that has worked for Freeport-McMoRan and Rio Tinto, is coming on board as senior vice-president of corporate development, while 14-year industry veteran Greg Phillips was named process superintendent.

As strikes continued in South Africa’s Bushveld complex, Platinum Group Metals saw its shares rise on drill results from its Waterberg project. The results expanded a discovery area of layered mineralization outside of the inferred resources of 6.6 million oz. The company’s shares rose 27% to $1.22, as Platinum prices rose US$120 to US$1,713.70 per oz.

TSX most active issues

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Great Basin Go	GBG	38739	0.25	0.08	0.08	–	0.17
Barrick Gold	ABX	20506	41.35	37.71	41.19	+	1.92
Kinross Gold	K	20362	10.23	9.01	9.98	+	0.52
Yamana Gold	YRI	19257	18.51	16.45	18.24	+	0.77
Lundin Mng	LUN	18635	5.38	4.83	5.36	+	0.44
Eldorado Gold	ELD	18367	15.31	13.73	15.29	+	0.92
Teck Res B	TCKB	17249	33.6	29.15	33.02	+	3.51
Perseus Mng	PRU	14911	2.96	2.62	2.93	+	0.19
Goldcorp	G	14715	45.44	40.85	44.91	+	2.89
First Quantum	FM	13303	24.9	21.37	23.11	+	1.19

TSX greatest percentage change

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Curis Res	CUV	220	0.77	0.42	0.77	+	57.1
Mariana Res	MRY	164	0.12	0.08	0.11	+	40
Aureus Mng	AUE	220	1.24	0.95	1.23	+	33.7
Rio Verde Mnls	RVD	456	0.27	0.2	0.27	+	32.5
Minco Gold	MMM	291	0.85	0.54	0.77	+	30.5
Centerra Gold	CG	2590	10.2	7.82	10.08	+	27.5
Acadian Mng	ADA	77	0.07	0.05	0.07	+	27.2
Platinum Gp Mt	PTM	1450	1.3	0.95	1.22	+	27
Trevali Mng	TV	5275	1.15	0.88	1.13	+	26.9
Bridgeport Vnt	BPV	538	0.63	0.49	0.63	+	26
Great Basin Go	GBG	38739	0.25	0.08	0.08< /td>	–	67.3
Starfield Res	SRU	779	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	33.3
CaNickel Mng	CML	1769	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	33.3
Azumah Res	AZR	2522	0.13	0.1	0.11	–	30
Homeland Enrgy	HEG	190	0.02	0.02	0.02	–	25
Cobriza Mtls	CZA	288	0.16	0.11	0.12	–	25
Rio Novo Gold	RN	798	0.23	0.17	0.18	–	22.2
Redzone Res	REZ	27	0.25	0.2	0.2	–	20
Grandview Gld	GVX	283	0.03	0.03	0.03	–	16.6
Gabriel Res	GBU	3991	2.48	2.01	2.09	–	16.4

TSX greatest value change

		Week
		Volume	Close	Change
Inmet Mining	IMN	1381858	54.23	+	5.07
Newmont Mng	NMC	50779	56.5	+	4.21
Franco-Nevada	FNV	3682375	57.33	+	4.15
Teck Res A	TCKA	16645	34.91	+	3.91
Allied Nevada	ANV	1020474	37.96	+	3.66
Teck Res B	TCKB	17249028	33.02	+	3.51
Walter Energy	WLT	17372	37.15	+	3.32
Coeur d Alene	CDM	87940	27.68	+	3.23
Royal Gold	RGL	45157	91.73	+	3.17
Goldcorp	G	14714668	44.91	+	2.89
Kirkland Lk Gd	KGI	3970591	11.86	–	1.22
Horizns G Bear	HGD	2509604	8.43	–	1.02
Cameco Corp	CCO	4850812	21.1	–	0.88
Potash Cp Sask	POT	10385983	41.37	–	0.87
Karnalyte Res	KRN	74006	7.23	–	0.86
Golden Mnls	AUM	575290	5.69	–	0.73
Pretium Res	PVG	2568846	13.15	–	0.7
Verde Potash	NPK	244903	3.77	–	0.63
Gabriel Res	GBU	3990870	2.09	–	0.41
Keegan Res	KGN	1069784	3.8	–	0.26

TSX Venture Exchange

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index rose 41.4 points, or 3.24%, to close near 52-week highs at 1,318.1 points during the trading session. An announcement by U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on a third round of quantitative easing sent commodities and stock indexes soaring.

Gold jumped US$34 following the news, touching a seven-month high of US$1,775 before ending the week at US$1,772.70 per oz. Silver prices also strengthened, approaching US$35 per oz. for the first time since March.

Vancouver-based explorer Kaminak Goldled the way on the value-added side, jumping 57¢ en route to a $2.28 weekly close. The company released assay results from a 52-hole drill program focused on its Supremo gold zones at the Coffee gold project in the Yukon Territory. Kaminak is undertaking a shallow drill program aimed at extending its T4 and T5 gold zones towards its T3 zone. The company announced it had connected the Supremo T3 and T4 zones on Sept. 11.

Results from T4 extended the zone’s strike length to 1,500 metres, with highlights including 52 metres averaging 3.09 grams gold per tonne in hole 254; 20 metres grading 5.27 grams gold in hole
283; and 17 metres of 5.1 grams gold in hole 268.

Gold-streaming outfit Sandstorm Gold was another solid performer, as the company rose 41¢, or 4.1%, en route to a $10.33 close. Sandstorm completed a US$150-million bought-deal financing on Sept. 7, and mobilized a portion of its capital on Sept. 10 when it pledged US$10 million towards Luna Gold’s expansion at the Aurizona gold operation in northeastern Brazil. Sandstorm also agreed to provide a non-revolving loan facility worth US$20 million at Luna’s request to fund the mine expansion. Sandstorm’s streaming agreement allows the company to purchase 17% of life-of-mine gold at Aurizona at a price of US$400 per oz. gold.

Gold explorer Newstrike Capital jumped 31¢, or 16%, on the back of promising results from 5,000 metres of drilling at its Ana Paula gold-silver project on Mexico’s Guerrero belt. The results came from a two-pronged exploration and delineation program focused on the property’s southern zones. Newstrike is compiling an initial resource on a high-grade breccia zone located southeast, and completing exploration holes to test a contact zone between highly altered sediments and a mineralized intrusion to the southwest. Highlights from the delineation program included 174 metres grading 5.45 grams gold and 11.8 grams silver in hole 12-111; 58 metres averaging 2.27 grams gold in hole 12-114; and 56 metres averaging 2.56 grams gold in hole 12-115.

TSX-V most active issues

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Aurcana Corp	AUN	10731	1.11	1.01	1.09		0
Bitterroot Res	BTT	6466	0.15	0.11	0.14	+	0.02
GoldQuest Mng	GQC	6444	1.76	1.63	1.66	–	0.01
East Asia Mnls	EAS	6129	0.26	0.14	0.21	+	0.07
TNR Gold	TNR	5404	0.15	0.06	0.12	+	0.06
Comstock Mtls	CSL	4314	0.58	0.35	0.58	+	0.22
Great Western	GWG	4151	0.39	0.3	0.39	+	0.1
Oroco Res	OCO	4090	0.29	0.25	0.26		0
Dacha Str Mtls	DSM	3696	0.54	0.51	0.52	–	0.02
Calibre Mng	CXB	3577	0.17	0.13	0.16	+	0.03

TSX-V greatest percentage change

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Terreno Res	TNO	926	0.09	0.04	0.08	+	166.6
Sonoro Mtls	SMO	289	0.35	0.18	0.35	+	150
Pac Arc Res	PAV	954	0.08	0.04	0.08	+	100
Blackstone Ven	BLV	1812	0.01	0.01	0.01	+	100
Brigadier Gold	BRG	1158	0.1	0.05	0.1	+	100
Soldi Vent	SOV	713	0.05	0.03	0.05	+	100
La Quinta Res	LAQ	183	0.02	0.01	0.01	+	100
Fort St J Nick	FTJ	504	0.04	0.02	0.04	+	100
Soho Res	SOH	2130	0.05	0.03	0.04	+	100
Elissa Res	ELI	716	0.1	0.05	0.09	+	100
Richmond Mnls	RMD	184	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
Strategic Res	STI	3332	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	50
Trio Gold Corp	TGK	97	0.03	0.02	0.02	–	50
Auramex Res	AUX	141	0.01	0.01	0.01	–	50
White Bear Res	WBR	19	0.05	0.05	0.05	–	40
Dawson Gold	DYU	55	0.03	0.02	0.02	–	40
Aurtois Expl	EXA	517	0.02	0.02	0.02	–	40
Dunav Res	DNV	76	0.25	0.16	0.16	–	38
Lund Gold	LGD	922	0.03	0.03	0.03	–	37.5
Cangold	CLD	533	0.12	0.06	0.08	–	37.5

TSX-V greatest value change

		Week
		Change	Close	Change
Kaminak Gold	KAM	2656413	2.28	+	0.57
Mirasol Res	MRZ	447627	2.59	+	0.53
Sandstorm Gld	SSL	2411161	10.33	+	0.41
Energold Drill	EGD	444665	3.96	+	0.36
Newmac Res	NER	31025	0.9	+	0.35
Tasman Metals	TSM	323120	1.71	+	0.31
Maudore Minls	MAO	123552	3.1	+	0.31
Newstrike Cap	NES	949166	2.22	+	0.31
Pac Booker Min	BKM	27508	14.38	+	0.28
Reservoir Mnls	RMC	2820668	3.64	+	0.25
Lumina Copper	LCC	473620	9.3	–	0.2
Great Quest Me	GQ	55405	0.97	–	0.18
Sona Res	SYS	39200	0.48	–	0.17
Gold Reserve	GRZ	26820	3.5	–	0.16
Teras Res	TRA	126050	0.93	–	0.1
Callinan Royal	CAA	153168	2.38	–	0.1
SilverCrest Mn	SVL	1734743	2.76	–	0.1
Dunav Res	DNV	76499	0.16	–	0.1
Silver Range R	SNG	420681	0.4	–	0.09
CuOro Res	CUA	187701	0.63	–	0.09

U.S. Markets

U.S. stocks gained for a second consecutive week, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index up to the highest level since December 2007, as the U.S. Federal Reserve unleashed a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) to prop up the economy.

The Fed said it would purchase US$40 billion of mortgage debt a month until the U.S. labour market recovers, pushing the S&P 500 up 27.85 points, or 1.9%, to 1,465.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 286.73, or 2.2%, to 13,593.37, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 47.53, or 1.5%, at 3,183.95.

Unlike the two previous monetary efforts, undertaken in 2008 and 2010, QE3 is open-ended and would remain in place until there is a noticeable improvement in the labour market. The unemployment rate in the U.S. fell to 8.1% in August from 8.3% in July — mainly because more people stopped looking for a job.

Following the QE3 news, the spot price of gold soared to US$1,770.50, adding US$35.20 per oz. This helped the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index advance 12.69 points to 191.87.

Randgold Reso
urces topped the value gains, climbing US$8.87 per share to $120.34. On Sept. 13 the producer held an open day at its jointly held Kibali gold project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, updating attendees on the mine’s development and relocation plan, which involves relocating 14 villages to Kokiza, a new model town. The project is envisioned as an underground and open-pit operation feeding a twin-circuit sulphide and oxide plant, with a throughput of 6 million tonnes per year. Kibali, which has more than 10 million oz. gold in reserves, should start production in late 2013.

Randgold and AngloGold Ashanti each hold 45% of Kibali, while the Congolese government owns the rest.

Leading global aluminum producer Alcoa was one of the heaviest traded stocks, with over 127 million shares changing hands as it reported receiving several accolades. It was among the top technology innovators across America, one of the 50 most engaged workplaces in the country and was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability indexes for the eleventh consecutive year, just to name a few. Alcoa finished at US$9.84, up US74¢.

 U.S. most active issues

Alpha Nat Res*	ANR	159846	9.05	6.88	8.55	+	1.65
Alcoa*	AA	127772	9.93	9.03	9.84	+	0.74
Freeport McMo*	FCX	119677	43.65	39.31	42.64	+	3.21
Arch Coal*	ACI	90044	8.05	6.42	7.91	+	1.31
Kinross Gold*	KGC	76092	10.56	9.24	10.27	+	0.61
Cliffs Nat Rs*	CLF	69366	46.83	39.06	45.55	+	5.64
Molycorp*	MCP	61521	13.6	11.82	13.43	+	1.49
Barrick Gold*	ABX	47778	42.75	38.64	42.38	+	2.22
Peabody Enrgy*	BTU	45937	26.04	23.42	25.61	+	1.9
Newmont Mng*	NEM	41147	57.65	51.05	57.2	+	5.51

U.S. greatest percentage change

Santa Fe Gold*	SFEG	986	0.42	0.26	0.38	+	31
Platinum Gp M*	PLG	290	1.35	1	1.27	+	29.5
Minco Gold*	MGH	1294	0.88	0.55	0.78	+	28
Alpha Nat Res*	ANR	159846	9.05	6.88	8.55	+	23.9
Uranium Res*	URRE	7776	0.63	0.49	0.63	+	23.2
Avalon Rare M*	AVL	3506	2.3	1.86	2.29	+	23.1
Tasman Mtls*	TAS	596	1.75	1.43	1.75	+	22.3
Quest Rare Mn*	QRM	1368	1.62	1.29	1.54	+	21.2
Lake Vict Mng*	LVCA	32	0.09	0.08	0.09	+	20
Stillwater Mg*	SWC	15866	14.07	11.21	13.91	+	19.9
Quaterra Res*	QMM	133	0.41	0.34	0.34	–	11.1
Gold Am Mng*	SILA	143	0.03	0.02	0.03	–	10
Alberta Star *	ASXSF	11	0.2	0.19	0.2	–	7.1
Cornerstone C*	CTNXF	12	0.07	0.06	0.07	–	6.7
Keegan Res*	KGN	267	4.09	3.76	3.91	–	5.7
Crosshair Eny*	CXZ	433	0.19	0.17	0.18	–	5.4
Compass Mnls*	CMP	408	77.43	71.4	72.13	–	5.3
Atlatsa Res*	ATL	1920	0.18	0.12	0.16	–	4.2
Pretium Res*	PVG	1769	14.87	13	13.57	–	4.1
Goldfield*	GV	555	2.22	2.06	2.11	–	3.6

U.S. greatest value change

Randgold Res*	GOLD	3334639	120.34	+	8.87
Cliffs Nat Rs*	CLF	69365683	45.55	+	5.64
Newmont Mng*	NEM	41146655	57.2	+	5.51
BHP Billi-BBL*	BBL	5046160	66.19	+	4.99
Franco-Nevada*	FNV	2583529	59.01	+	4.61
BHP Billi-BHP*	BHP	17275347	72.28	+	4.58
Rio Tinto*	RIO	2885891	53.18	+	4.54
Royal Gold*	RGLD	4457379	94.55	+	4.13
Allied Nevada*	ANV	655813	39.11	+	4.11
Teck Res B*	TCK	16754156	34.03	+	3.85
Compass Mnls*	CMP	407753	72.13	–	4.04
Cameco Corp*	CCJ	9545045	21.73	–	0.72
Potash C Sask*	POT	37785106	42.58	–	0.6
Pretium Res*	PVG	1769312	13.57	–	0.58
Soc Quim&M Ch*	SQM	1430067	62.4	–	0.25
Keegan Res*	KGN	266513	3.91	–	0.24
Gold Fields*	GFI	39024653	12.9	–	0.22
Mosaic*	MOS	21910299	60.79	–	0.22
Nevsun Res*	NSU	4663053	4.48	–	0.16
Banro Res*	BAA	1553147	4.82	–	0.13