Market news

Toronto Stock Exchange

After a previously sour trading week, the TSX Composite Index gained 160.97 points to close the Sept. 26-30 period at 11,623.84, despite rising concerns over the U.S. economy and the European debt crisis. However, that upward movement was not seen in the Global Gold Index, which slipped less than a point to 394.89 as the spot price for gold fell US$32.40 per oz. to US$1,624.80 in New York. The Capped Metals & Mining Index also dropped 32.2 points to 839.13. 

After receiving a friendly $1.33-billion takeover bid from China’s state-owned Minmetals Resources, Anvil Mining was  the largest value gainer and most traded stock. Minmetals is offering $8 in cash per share, which represents a 39% premium to Anvil’s share price on Sept. 29, and a 30% premium to its 20-day volume-weighted average price. The transaction requires shareholder approval and is expected to close by Nov. 28, unless it is extended. On the news Anvil’s shares jumped $1.58, or 25.9%, to end at $7.66 on 25.7 million shares traded. 

The largest percentage gainer was EMC Metals, moving 40% to 14¢ on no news. The most recent news the speciality metals explorer released was on Sept. 13, indicating it secured an option to gain a 100% interest in the Nevada-based Mineral Exploration Services’ patented mining claim and past-producing scandium property, known as “The Little Green Monster,” near Fairfield, Utah. 

TVI Pacific saw its shares move up 25% to 5¢ after its Philippine operating affiliate sent out its twenty-fourth shipment of copper concentrate from its Canatuan mine on Sept. 26. The shipment contained 5,369 dry tonnes of concentrate grading 23.7% copper. TVI Pacific anticipates a US$14.8-million profit from the consignment. 

Silvercorp Metals gained $1.40, or 20.3%, to close at $8.29 after making several important announcements in the previous week. On Sept. 19, the company posted an open letter to shareholders addressing the recent allegations that claim the company’s financial statements and resource estimates are overstated. Silvercorp says it is working with securities regulators and hired KPMG Forensic to investigate the allegations. On Sept. 22, the miner said it so far bought 4.4 million of its shares for $34.9 million. The next day it filed a lawsuit charging Chinastockwatch.com, Jerry Katz, Alfredlittle.com, Alfred Little, Simon Moore and numerous John Does for disseminating false information about the company to drive down its share price. Silvercorp states the defendants did this to increase their profit  by short selling.  

On the negative side of the ledger, INV Metals fell 34.3% to 21¢ apiece on results from the company’s 2011 drill program at the Okohongo copper-silver deposit in Namibia. The company believes the drill program “modestly expanded” the project’s current inferred resource.

TSX most active issues

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(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Anvil MiningAVM257587.755.627.66+1.58 

Kinross GoldK2559816.2714.7815.57-0.10 

Teck BTCKB2211533.7529.6030.92+0.19 

First QuantumFM2123017.2013.0513.95+0.24 

Uranium OneUUU211792.402.052.07-0.14 

Lundin MngLUN201424.263.563.65-0.20 

Barrick GoldABX1857650.3746.7549.11+1.38 

Lake Shore GldLSG184351.591.281.59+0.05 

Avion GoldAVR171202.221.782.01-0.14 

Carpathian GldCPN160880.630.510.53-0.03

TSX greatest percentage change

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(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

EMC MetalsEMC35880.140.080.14+40.0 

TriAusMinTOR1960.090.070.09+28.5 

Anvil MiningAVM257587.755.627.66+25.9 

TVI PacificTVI19760.060.050.05+25.0 

Silvercorp MtlSVM72108.526.808.29+20.3 

Excellon ResEXN12300.740.560.67+19.6 

Bannerman ResBAN4500.360.240.31+19.2 

Romarco MnrlsR129871.200.921.19+19.0 

Jayden ResJDN2820.140.120.13+18.1 

Stornoway DiamSWY6611.741.401.60+17.6 

INV MetalsINV58050.300.200.21-34.3 

Red Cresc ResRCB160.300.230.23-32.3 

Mediterrn ResMNR7090.160.120.12-29.4 

Talon MetalsTLO6120.720.520.52-27.7 

Rockex MngRXM1950.370.300.30-26.8 

Auryx GoldAYX23600.530.410.41-26.7 

Talison LithmTLH9153.052.102.18-25.8 

Trevali ResTV20131.240.890.91-25.4 

Royal NickelRNX6250.870.630.65-25.2 

Frontier Rr ErFRO2371.420.911.05-25.0

TSX greatest value change

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VOLUMECLOSECHANGE

Anvil MiningAVM257580377.66+1.58 

Labdr I-Ore RoLIF_U61387933.06+1.41 

Silvercorp MtlSVM72103488.29+1.40 

Barrick GoldABX1857581249.11+1.38 

Newmont MngNMC4834566.12+1.37 

GoldcorpG1550814348.07+1.12 

Allied NevadaANV209577637.79+0.88 

North Am En PaNOA1043736.11+0.64 

Intl Minls CrpIMZ1591117.35+0.53 

Opta MinlsOPM328762.50+0.35 

Royal GoldRGL5515066.87-6.53 

Inmet MiningIMN187025144.40-5.19 

Detour GoldDGC453731827.30-4.72 

AgriumAGU505286069.75-4.39 

Walter EnergyWLT2437662.83-3.60 

Silver Std ResSSO153723119.27-2.33 

Silver WheatonSLW1264596430.94-2.20 

Central Gold-TGTU_U3381466.37-2.13 

Ivanhoe MinesIVN752768814.45-2.06 

Tahoe ResTHO273744715.10-1.83

TSX Venture Exchange

The S&P TSX Venture Composite Index had another tough week, dropping 78.91 points in the Sept. 26-30 period to end at 1,467.17 points. Volume remained elevated with an average of 98.5 million shares traded daily.

Some companies made gains, with Lumina Copper the most successful value-wise as it went up 53¢ to $6.44. The company has fluctuated between $5.50 and $7.50 since March, while advancing the Taca Taca copper-gold-molybdenum project in Argentina and spinning out its royalty division. During the period, Lumina announced optimized metallurgical recoveries from Taca Taca of 92.8% in the primary mineralization and 89.9% in the supergene mineralization. Meanwhile, Franco-Nevada has offered to pay $66 million in shares and warrants for Lumina Royalty, which Lumina Copper spun out in June.

Trade Winds Ventures was the most heavily traded stock on the exchange, with 36.3 million shares traded after Detour Gold made an $84-million takeover offer for the company. Trade Winds is no stranger to Detour – the two are partners in a fifty-fifty joint venture of the Block A property adjacent to Detour’s large Detour Lake project. The takeover offer is mostly share-based, consisting of 0.0142 of a Detour share plus 0.01¢ for each Trade Wind share held, which translated to 45¢ for each Trade Winds share on Sept. 23. Trade Winds’ share price jumped 12.5¢ on the day of the offer, but dropped 3¢ to end the period at 38¢. Detour’s share price dropped $4.72 to $27.30 in the same period.

Exploration Orbite was also active with 12.8 million shares traded, though the activity saw the company’s share price drop 45¢ to $1.46 apiece. The company announced it has been granted a permit to extract a 3,000-tonne bulk sample of aluminous clay from its Grande-Vallée site in Quebec, with the aim of testing its patented process on the material. Exploration Orbite has also applied for a new patent in the U.S. protecting several aspects of its refinement process, and is looking to complete a feasibil
ity study in the first half of 2012.

FDG Mining was one of the biggest percentage gainers of the week after announcing it had identified new veins at its Topacio gold-silver project in Nicaragua. The company’s share price jumped up 10¢ in the period to reach 32¢, while FDG’s share price has ranged from 14¢ to 39¢ apiece since it began trading on the venture in May. The latest grab sample results from the new veins included values as high as 32.1 grams gold per tonne and 842.6 grams silver per tonne, discovered while building a 16-km road to the project site.

TSX-V most active issues

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Trade Winds VtTWD362940.440.380.38+0.08 

Canaco ResCAN132342.281.741.91-0.33 

Orbite Expl AORTA127752.091.281.46-0.45 

EastCoalECX97170.460.350.40-0.03 

IBC Adv AlloysIB88160.220.190.20+0.01 

Grayd ResGYD80262.692.562.59-0.02 

Encore Ren ResEZ78200.050.040.040.00 

Rusoro MngRML76860.140.120.14+0.01 

Rio Alto MngRIO74342.882.352.58-0.15 

Sandstorm ResSSL74181.200.931.05-0.04

TSX-V greatest percentage change

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(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Victory VentVVN6170.150.110.15+50.0 

AMI ResAMU3510.060.040.06+50.0 

FDG MngFDG6430.310.220.31+47.6 

Dalton Res LtdDAL120.600.380.60+46.3 

Nitinat MnlsNZZ1020.220.100.21+40.0 

Barisan GoldBG4420.560.400.56+40.0 

Colstar VentCTR610.220.170.22+37.5 

Metropolitn MgMNZ830.090.080.08+33.3 

Newmac ResNER2430.040.030.04+33.3 

Goldcliff ResGCN1440.050.040.04+33.3 

Pac Ridge ExplPEX65440.320.150.15-54.5 

Groundstar ResGSA4720.080.050.05-44.4 

Milner Con SlvMCA7100.260.260.26-42.2 

Equinox ExplEQX1190.200.130.13-35.0 

Kincora CopperKCC150.400.310.31-34.0 

Crown MnlsCWM3580.050.040.04-33.3 

Rare Earth MtlRA11410.260.160.16-33.3 

Rare Earth IndRND7690.200.100.14-33.3 

Britannica ResBRR520.020.020.02-33.3 

Central ResCBC1400.090.080.08-33.3

TSX-V greatest value change

WEEK

VOLUMECLOSECHANGE

Lumina CopperLCC2562166.44+0.53 

Anfield NickelANF1587404.06+0.31 

Kaminak GoldKAM16780083.10+0.22 

Giyani GoldWDG4907981.44+0.21 

Dalton Res LtdDAL124600.60+0.19 

Olivut ResOLV2495861.45+0.17 

Barisan GoldBG4422840.56+0.16 

Challenger DeeCDE2259100.70+0.15 

Cayden ResCYD1757812.30+0.15 

Cambior IncCBJ1835000.68+0.14 

Chesapeake GldCKG11246415.50-1.94 

Trelawney M&ExTRR50332073.14-0.71 

Rainy River RsRR6927147.75-0.60 

Orbite Expl AORTA127753281.46-0.45 

Bear Creek MngBCM12768563.96-0.43 

Pac Booker MinBKM151508.22-0.41 

Copper Fox MtlCUU63617360.94-0.40 

Batero GoldBAT2826752.42-0.38 

Mirasol ResMRZ3663683.47-0.37 

Canaco ResCAN132335151.91-0.33

U.S. markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 141.9 points to 10,913.38 during the Sept. 26-30 trading week, but it ended the third quarter down 12% in its biggest percentage drop since the first quarter of 2009. 

The bleak third quarter was plagued by concerns over the European debt crisis, the possibility of the U.S. dipping into another recession and slowing growth in economies, such as China. To add to the gloom, gold lost some of the lustre it gained as the quarter closed. On Sept. 30, the New York spot price for gold tumbled US$32.40 to US$1,624.80 per oz. It was only a month ago that gold traded above US$1,800 per oz.

The S&P 500 Index slipped 5.01 points to end the week at 1,131.42, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index dipped 3.94 points to 185.

Linux Gold was the week’s biggest percentage gainer – on no news, the company jumped 33.3% to US$0.04. Close behind, Tombstone Exploration advanced 25% to US$0.05 a share after receiving exploration permits for the Zebra property, which covers 2,000 acres in the eastern part of the Tombstone mining district in Arizona. The company also retained SRK Consulting
to update its National Instrument 43-101
report.

After releasing much news in the previous week, Silvercorp Metals rose 17.8%, or US$1.20 a share, to US$7.91, making it the week’s largest value gainer. 

Silvercorp again rebutted allegations of fraud. It says the anonymous claims are a “short and distort manipulation scheme” to drive down its share price. The company says its books and resource numbers have been verified and that there is “no substance to the allegations.” 

The company bought 4.4 million of its shares for $34.9 million and filed a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court against several defendants, such as a blogger who goes by the fictitious name “Alfred Little,” for spreading the false claims. Silvercorp has asked the court to have defendants pay compensatory and punitive monetary damages, and to remove false information about the company from their websites, among other things. 

U.S. most active issues

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa*AA16828210.889.569.57-0.50 

Freeport McMo*FCX14598636.2430.3730.45-1.92 

Mosaic*MOS6818861.9048.4948.97-8.73 

Hecla Mining*HL602316.245.325.36-0.33 

Kinross Gold*KGC5385215.9514.2114.78-0.43 

Potash C Sask*POT5303550.4143.0643.22-2.67 

Alpha Nat Res*ANR4876522.8317.6517.69-2.70 

Silver Wheatn*SLW4140534.6129.3029.45-2.86 

Arch Coal*ACI4061517.5914.5314.58-0.68 

Barrick Gold*ABX3983049.3945.1546.65+0.23

U.S. greatest percentage change

VOLUMEWEEK

(000s)HIGHLOWCLOSECHANGE

Linux Gold*LNXGF1200.040.020.04+33.3 

Tombstone Exp*TMBXF2070.050.050.05+25.0 

Silvercorp Mt*SVM39778.196.617.91+17.8 

Mines Managem*MGN6191.801.361.63+14.7 

Primero Mng*PPP4432.882.222.70+11.5 

North Am En P*NOA3856.355.095.82+10.6 

Cream Mnrls*CRMXF1100.190.160.17+6.2 

US Energy*USEG4832.562.112.31+5.0 

Santa Fe Gold*SFEG3300.830.750.83+5.0 

Alumina Inc*AWC47125.925.255.65+2.7 

Cornerstone C*CTNXF430.190.140.14-26.3 

Entree Gold*EGI10241.771.341.39-23.2 

Douglas Lk Ml*DLKM3940.210.180.18-21.7 

Crosshair E&M*CXZ1420.550.390.40-20.0 

Radius Gold*RDUFF4750.440.350.35-18.6 

Goldfield*GV4610.310.260.27-18.1 

Legend Intl H*LGDI480.440.350.36-18.1 

SinoCoking Cl*SCOK4503.682.953.11-15.9 

Mosaic*MOS6818861.9048.4948.97-15.1 

Minco Gold*MGH9371.030.810.81-14.7

U.S. greatest value change

WEEK

VOLUMECLOSECHANGE

Silvercorp Mt*SVM39765827.91+1.20 

Soc Quim&M Ch*SQM585110547.81+0.87 

North Am En P*NOA3854215.82+0.56 

Randgold Res*GOLD412293496.72+0.30 

Primero Mng*PPP4434592.70+0.28 

Barrick Gold*ABX3983020746.65+0.23 

Mines Managem*MGN6190931.63+0.21 

Alumina Inc*AWC47121575.65+0.15 

US Energy*USEG4834582.31+0.11 

Richmont Mine*RIC401073110.57+0.09 

Mosaic*MOS6818759548.97-8.73 

Royal
Gold*RGLD892921564.06-7.26 

Cliffs Nat Rs*CLF2670536151.17-6.67 

Agrium*AGU261295266.66-5.18 

Walter Energy*WLT232633760.01-4.49 

Intrepid Pots*IPI108220024.87-3.18 

Peabody Enrgy*BTU3601153533.88-2.89 

Silver Wheatn*SLW4140496929.45-2.86 

Alpha Nat Res*ANR4876536117.69-2.70 

Potash C Sask*POT5303511943.22-2.67