Market news

Toronto Stock Exchange

Growing concern over another recession on the horizon had the S&P/TSX Composite Index following global markets, falling 235 points to 12,317.46 for the period.

The downturn came after positive winds accompanying the third round of quantitative easing subsided, and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index stayed relatively flat, falling by less than a point to 89.60 points, while the price of gold fell a dollar to finish up at US$1,773.90 per oz. gold.

Continued fears of a hard landing for the Chinese growth story downed diversified miners, with the S&P/TSX Capped Diversified Metals & Mining Index dropping 8 points to 897.53 points, and the price of copper down 2¢ to US$3.76 per lb.

But the sluggish red metal pales in comparison to the recent steep decline in iron ore prices. In August prices typically fell 30% to under US$85 a tonne by September. The loss of value has been particularly hard on Labrador Iron Mines Holdings, which halted all capital spending in September and stopped operating one of its processing plants. These decisions have impacted its market capitalization, and the company’s shares were off 21% to $1.12 for the period. The fall in iron ore prices is connected to reduced demand from China after steelmakers went on a “buyers’ strike” and liquidated inventories.

The news was better for Aureus Mining, with a new feasibility study on its New Liberty gold project moving shares in the right direction. The company’s market cap gained 20% for the period, and its shares traded for $1.19. New Liberty is in Liberia, and the study outlines a mine that would produce 120,000 oz. per year over eight years and generate a pre-tax net present value of $234 million, using a 5% discount rate and a US$1,400 per oz. gold price.

A feasibility study for Sulliden Gold’s Shahuindo project in northern Peru failed to generate the same market enthusiasm. The study outlines a smaller and more expensive gold operation than previously anticipated, considering a 10,000-tonne-per-day operation that would cost US$180 million to build and sustain. The mine would produce 84,500 oz. gold and 167,200 oz. silver a year at total cash costs, net of silver credits, of US$552 per oz. gold. These numbers help generate a net present value of $248.6 million using a 5% discount, a gold price of US$1,415 per oz. and a silver price of US$27 per oz. Sulliden shares were off 4% to $1.19 for the period.

Cluff Gold made a break with the past and is changing its name to Amara Mining. The move reflects movement at the top for the West Africa-focused gold miner, with founder Algy Cluff leaving the business earlier this year, and three non-executive directors resigning. Amara shares were up 19% for the period, and finished at $1.55 per share.

TSX most active issues

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Torex Gold	TXG	27396	2.19	1.93	2.12	–	0.11
B2Gold	BTO	21281	4.15	3.7	3.94	–	0.32
CGA Mining	CGA	18676	3	2.64	2.8	–	0.34
Kinross Gold	K	15461	10.11	9.25	10.06	–	0.31
Barrick Gold	ABX	13718	41.64	39.25	41.08	–	1.2
Eldorado Gold	ELD	11634	15.1	13.87	14.99	–	0.56
Yamana Gold	YRI	11465	18.92	17.61	18.78	–	0.48
Goldcorp	G	10459	45.55	43.03	45.14	–	1.75
Teck Res B	TCKB	9550	29.94	28.33	29.01	–	1.08
Sulliden Gold	SUE	9158	1.3	1.12	1.19	+	0.01

TSX greatest percentage change

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Starfield Res	SRU	545	0.02	0.01	0.01	+	100
Serabi Gold	SBI	1176	0.14	0.1	0.14	+	86.6
St Augustine	SAU	2361	0.4	0.24	0.34	+	51.1
MagIndustries	MAA	371	0.14	0.1	0.11	+	31.2
Geovic Mng	GMC	216	0.11	0.1	0.1	+	25
Rio Novo Gold	RN	1310	0.24	0.2	0.24	+	23
Aureus Mng	AUE	154	1.24	1.1	1.19	+	20.2
EMC Metals	EMC	991	0.08	0.07	0.07	+	16.6
Pac Rim Mining	PMU	495	0.11	0.08	0.11	+	15.7
Acadian Mng	ADA	191	0.08	0.06	0.08	+	14.2
Mediterrn Res	MNR	189	0.09	0.08	0.08	–	25
Niocan Inc	NIO	27	0.42	0.3	0.3	–	23
Labdr Iron Mns	LIM	3375	1.43	1.08	1.12	–	21.1
Revolution Res	RV	616	0.23	0.19	0.2	–	20.4
Cobriza Mtls	CZA	294	0.12	0.1	0.11	–	19.2
Xinergy	XRG	277	1.14	0.87	0.92	–	17.8
Macarthur Mnl	MMS	147	0.54	0.45	0.47	–	17.5
Olympus Pacif	OYM	1200	0.26	0.2	0.22	–	17.3
Diamond Fields	DFI	17	0.05	0.05	0.05	–	16.6
Meadow Bay Gd	MAY	254	0.61	0.5	0.55	–	16.6

 TSX greatest value change

		Week
		Change	Close	Change
Agrium	AGU	2755157	102	+	3.02
Horizns G Bear	HGD	1873487	8.25	+	0.58
Intl Minls Crp	IMZ	253175	5.6	+	0.52
Virginia Mines	VGQ	107830	10.55	+	0.48
Altius Mnrls	ALS	123625	10.73	+	0.31
Centerra Gold	CG	1982810	12.31	+	0.3
Aureus Mng	AUE	153800	1.19	+	0.2
Sherritt Intl	S	2503385	4.98	+	0.2
Duluth Metals	DM	782936	2.35	+	0.16
Karnalyte Res	KRN	82672	7.68	+	0.14
Inmet Mining	IMN	1340813	46.73	–	2.41
Franco-Nevada	FNV	2555645	57.95	–	2.18
Tahoe Res	THO	1331557	20.02	–	2.08
Cameco Corp	CCO	5876105	19.15	–	1.77
Goldcorp	G	10458578	45.14	–	1.75
Silver Wheaton	SLW	8383782	39.08	–	1.44
Pan Am Silver	PAA	1789673	21.08	–	1.42
Newmont Mng	NMC	10253	56.26	–	1.41
Silver Std Res	SSO	899729	15.82	–	1.38
First Majestic	FR	2255322	22.82	–	1.24

TSX Venture Exchange

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index fell 0.83%, or 11.21 points, to close at 1,334.51 during the trading period. Mixed news from the European Union dampened optimism over a third round of quantitative easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve, and volatile commodity prices fuelled investor skepticism over a long-term recovery.

Violent protests in Athens and Madrid over austerity measures enflamed fears about the eurozone, though markets staged a late comeback, following news that Spain and Greece had formally outlined spending cuts and tax increases in-line with international expectations.

Speculation over stimulus measures in China also fuelled a late rally, with gold prices hitting a seven-month high of US$1,780.50 per oz., before closing the week down slightly at US$1,773.90 per oz.

Vancouver-based American Vanadium jumped 30¢ en route to an 80¢ close following news it had patented its vanadium purification process. The patent involves refining vanadium oxide for use “as an electrolyte for mass storage batteries,” as well as in products like aluminum and titanium-vanadium master alloys. American Vanadium’s Gibellini project in Nevada is the only development-stage vanadium project in the U.S.

Developer Santacruz Silver Mining experienced a 34¢ boost following an update on exploration and construction activities at its Rosario silver-gold project in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The company closed the week at $2.39 after announcing that mill construction at the site was proceeding on schedule and on budget towards commissioning by year-end. Santacruz is planning an underground operation that would produce 2.2 million equivalent oz. silver annually. The company also released results from a drill program focused on the Rosario I and II veins. Results continued to hit high-grade silver equivalent intersects, including: 1.2 metres averaging 504.5 grams silver equivalent per tonne in hole 1; and 2.6 metres grading 721.14 silver equivalent in hole 3.

Junior explorer Goldquest Mining suffered its first major share setback after soaring over 2000% after releasing preliminary results on its Las Tres Palmas gold-copper project in the Dominican Republic in May. Shares fell 65¢ over the week to close at $1.34 after releasing results from three additional holes at its Romero target. Though Goldquest cut gold-bearing intercepts, it was a notable drop in grade that caught the market’s attention. New results from Romero were highlighted by 142 metres averaging 0.42 gram gold per tonne and 0.74% copper in hole 99, and 123 metres grading 2.5 grams gold and 0.33% copper in hole 100.

TSX-V most active issues

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
GoldQuest Mng	GQC	19033	1.9	1.11	1.34	–	0.65
Plains Ck Phos	PCP	11688	0.03	0.02	0.03	+	0.02
Aurcana Corp	AUN	9510	1.26	1.13	1.19	+	0.02
RPT Uranium	RPT	8781	0.02	0.01	0.02		0
Graphite One R	GPH	4624	0.18	0.13	0.14	–	0.02
Sandstorm Mt&E	SND	3925	0.35	0.31	0.34	–	0.01
Orko Silver	OK	3695	1.81	1.57	1.74	+	0.05
Strike Graph	SRK	3337	0.12	0.09	0.09	–	0.01
Roxgold	ROG	3114	0.86	0.65	0.81	+	0.03
Argex Silver C	RGX	2994	1.17	0.96	1.14	+	0.14

TSX-V greatest percentage change

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Guerrero Expl	GEX	127	0.07	0.05	0.07	+	116.6
New Guinea Gld	NGG	79	0.01	0.01	0.01	+	100
Plains Ck Phos	PCP	11688	0.03	0.02	0.03	+	100
Dynasty Gold	DYG	797	0.05	0.03	0.05	+	80
Jet Gold	JAU	151	0.13	0.08	0.13	+	73.3
Silver Mtn Mns	SMM	76	0.12	0.1	0.12	+	71.4
Arrowhead Gold	AWH	1398	0.03	0.02	0.03	+	66.6
Challenger Dev	CDQ	312	0.03	0.02	0.03	+	66.6
Cypress Dev	CYP	1711	0.03	0.02	0.03	+	66.6
Orex Expl	OX	1076	0.03	0.02	0.03	+	66.6
Fort St J Nick	FTJ	453	0.03	0.02	0.02	–	57.1
Nevada Geo Pow	NGP	791	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	50
Canyon Copper	CNC	41	0.06	0.05	0.06	–	45
Martina Mnls	MTN	23	0.04	0.04	0.04	–	41.6
Serengeti Res	SIR	370	0.15	0.12	0.12	–	36.8
Rusoro Mng	RML	497	0.05	0.04	0.04	–	36.3
X-Terra Res	XT	103	0.37	0.23	0.23	–	36.1
Feronia	FRN	455	0.12	0.07	0.08	–	36
Canterra Mnls	CTM	83	0.12	0.08	0.08	–	36
Caldera Res	CDR	485	0.02	0.01	0.01	–	33.3

TSX-V greatest value change

		Week
		Change	Close	Change
Pac Booker Min	BKM	41427	14.95	+	0.48
Anfield Nickel	ANF	24250	3.46	+	0.36
Santacruz Silv	SCZ	797229	2.39	+	0.34
American Vanad	AVC	575693	0.8	+	0.3
Almonty Ind	AII	24643	0.94	+	0.18
Ascot Res	AOT	189546	1.05	+	0.17
Atacama Pac Gd	ATM	332035	3.65	+	0.15
Argex Silver C	RGX	2994115	1.14	+	0.14
Goldstrike Res	GSR	762579	0.8	+	0.13
Teras Res	TRA	122150	1.09	+	0.13
Lumina Copper	LCC	177495	10.1	–	1.16
GoldQuest Mng	GQC	19033476	1.34	–	0.65
Reservoir Mnls	RMC	1459023	2.9	–	0.34
Prophecy Plat	NKL	601927	1.49	–	0.33
Archon Mineral	ACS	27000	0.67	–	0.28
SilverCrest Mn	SVL	1264055	2.78	–	0.27
Mirasol Res	MRZ	84446	2.55	–	0.26
Chesapeake Gld	CKG	111542	9.48	–	0.26
Abitibi Royalt	RZZ	68890	1.12	–	0.2
Athabasca Mnls	ABM	1031511	1.41	–	0.17

U.S. markets

U.S. stocks slipped during the trading week as the situation in Europe worsened and a third round of quantitative easing in the U.S. seemed to lose its magic, reigniting concerns about economic growth.

During the week the S&P 500 Index fell 19 points, or 1.3%, in its biggest decline since June 1, ending at 1,440.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased 142 points, or 1%, to end at 13,437.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index gave back 2%, or 64 points, to 3,116.28.

The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index fell 4 points to 191, as the gold spot price closed down nearly US$2 per oz. to US$1,771.10.

Platinum junior Atlatsa Resources was the week’s biggest percentage gainer, soaring 36%, or US6¢, to close at US23¢. The South Africa-focused firm said on Sept. 27 that it has agreed on an interim restructuring plan with Anglo American Platinum to lower its borrowing cost. Under the first-phase agreement, the company, its subsidiary Plateau Resources and the Bokoni group of companies will consolidate outstanding debt and preference shares into its senior-term loan facility with Anglo. The consolidated senior loan will carry an effective annual interest rate of 6.23%, which is down from the 12.31% rate currently charged on the debt owing to Anglo.

Days after the positive news, the company announced an “unprotected industrial action” at its Bokoni Platinum mines, a joint venture with Anglo in South Africa. It indicated less than 20% of the employees showed up for work on Oct. 1. The junior’s management said its labour agreement, including wages, is effective until June 30, 2013. It adds that it “will not negotiate any issues outside of formal bargaining structures,” and urges workers to return to work.

Canarc Resource saw a boost leading up to the Oct. 1 closure of its previously reported $1.1-million private placement with Canford Capital. The junior closed the period up 14% at US17¢. The junior published no other releases since it announced the private placement on Sept. 11, and closed the agreement on Oct. 1. Canford holds more than 10% of the company, after buying 11.3 million units at 10¢ apiece.

U.S. most active issues

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Alcoa*	AA	79449	9.19	8.65	8.86	–	0.37
Alpha Nat Res*	ANR	76793	7.06	6.19	6.57	–	0.8
Freeport McMo*	FCX	65556	40.85	37.86	39.58	–	1.9
Arch Coal*	ACI	49642	6.81	6.01	6.33	–	0.65
Kinross Gold*	KGC	45649	10.29	9.45	10.21	–	0.48
Barrick Gold*	ABX	35203	42.5	39.9	41.76	–	2.01
Peabody Enrgy*	BTU	32545	23.44	21.33	22.29	–	2.07
Hecla Mining*	HL	31453	6.9	6.01	6.55	–	0.67
Molycorp*	MCP	30078	12.63	10.75	11.5	–	1.37
Cliffs Nat Rs*	CLF	30066	41.45	37.56	39.13	–	2.54

U.S. greatest percentage change

		Volume	Week
		(000s)	High	Low	Close	Change
Atlatsa Res*	ATL	1288	0.27	0.16	0.23	+	36
Dejour Enterp*	DEJ	1138	0.24	0.19	0.23	+	18.4
Canarc Res*	CRCUF	1123	0.18	0.14	0.17	+	14
Quaterra Res*	QMM	96	0.38	0.33	0.36	+	7.7
El Capitan Pr*< /td>	ECPN	1605	0.52	0.43	0.48	+	5.4
PolyMet Mng*	PLM	415	1.17	1.1	1.16	+	5.4
Timberline Rs*	TLR	143	0.42	0.39	0.42	+	2.4
Caledonia Mng*	CALVF	348	0.1	0.09	0.09	+	2.2
Patriot Gold*	PGOL	281	0.25	0.19	0.23	+	2.2
Agrium*	AGU	810	103.68	101.25	103.46	+	1.5
Minco Gold*	MGH	296	0.79	0.57	0.67	–	18.8
Kobex Mnls*	KXM	34	0.63	0.53	0.53	–	17.5
Uranium Res*	URRE	2056	0.58	0.49	0.51	–	16.1
NovaCopper*	NCQ	476	2.59	2.15	2.15	–	15
Mines Managem*	MGN	177	1.68	1.42	1.53	–	15
Thompson Crk*	TC	1150	3.36	2.85	2.85	–	14.6
Entree Gold*	EGI	632	0.64	0.56	0.57	–	14.5
Crosshair Eny*	CXZ	250	0.17	0.14	0.14	–	14.4
Lake Vict Mng*	LVCA	69	0.11	0.08	0.08	–	13
Richmont Mine*	RIC	1729	5.4	4.48	4.76	–	12.5

 U.S. greatest value change

		Week
		Change	Close	Change
Agrium*	AGU	809859	103.46	+	1.56
Atlatsa Res*	ATL	1288379	0.23	+	0.06
PolyMet Mng*	PLM	415266	1.16	+	0.06
Dejour Enterp*	DEJ	1137979	0.23	+	0.04
Quaterra Res*	QMM	96000	0.36	+	0.03
El Capitan Pr*	ECPN	1605136	0.48	+	0.03
Canarc Res*	CRCUF	1122859	0.17	+	0.02
SinoCoking Cl*	SCOK	117295	1.69	+	0.02
Avino Silver*	ASM	77240	1.66	+	0.01
Timberline Rs*	TLR	142934	0.42	+	0.01
Randgold Res*	GOLD	3027321	123	–	4.68
Rio Tinto*	RIO	2326477	46.76	–	3.48
Franco-Nevada*	FNV	1556393	58.93	–	3.11
Mosaic*	MOS	14014835	57.61	–	3
Alliance Rs P*	ARLP	300821	59.95	–	2.97
Walter Energy*	WLT	1676838	32.46	–	2.87
BHP Billi-BHP*	BHP	8616934	68.61	–	2.81
Cliffs Nat Rs*	CLF	30066257	39.13	–	2.54
Goldcorp*	GG	22835610	45.85	–	2.47
Soc Quim&M Ch*	SQM	1579445	61.64	–	2.45