TSX down, August 16-20

The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 179.1 points or 0.87% to finish the August 16-20 trading week at 20,339.00. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index dropped 7.48% to 100.51 and the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index plunged 10.06% to 158.84. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index lost 3.01% to 281.16 and spot gold dipped US$1.00 per oz. to US$1,780.70 per ounce.

Shares of Argonaut Gold rose 16¢ to $2.99 per share on no corporate news. Earlier this month the company reported record quarterly production of 63,749 gold-equivalent ounces for the three months ended June 30, compared with production of 31,531 gold-equivalent ounces in the same quarter last year. Cash costs during the second quarter came in at US$876 per oz. gold sold and all-in sustaining costs were US$1,187 per gold oz. sold, compared with US$885 per oz. and US$1,080 per ounce in the year-earlier quarter.  Net income reached US$21.8 million or 7¢ a share, an increase from a net loss of US$7.7 million or 4¢ per share in the second quarter of 2020. Cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash operating working capital totaled US$39.3 million, an increase from US$11.8 million in the second quarter of 2020. The company also reported that its open-pit Magino project in Ontario is on track for first gold pour during the first quarter of 2023, and expects to ramp up the new conveying and stacking system at its Florida Canyon open-pit mine in Nevada during the third quarter.

Next Source Materials advanced 14¢ to $2.58 per share. The company updated investors on its Molo graphite project in Madagascar. The company said the fully funded mine is on schedule to commission in the second quarter of 2022. Construction is on track with all major equipment fabricated and ready to be received by its contractor; personnel have been mobilized to site; site works are on schedule to commence in the third and fourth quarter of this year, and plant equipment installation is on schedule to start in the first and second quarter of 2022. During its first phase, the mine is expected to produce about 17,000 tonnes a year of SuperFlake graphite concentrate, with freight on board (FOB) operating costs of US$566 per tonne.

Shares of Dynacor Gold Mines climbed 9¢ to $2.62. The junior, which purchases and processes ore in Peru from artisanal and small-scale miners and is also exploring for gold at its Tumipampa project in the country’s Apurimac department, reported US$16 million in sales for the month of July. Gold production in July hit a new monthly record of 10,383 gold-equivalent ounces. The company purchased over 14,000 tonnes and processed over 12,000 tonnes go mineralized material.  The company’s 2021 guidance forecasts US$150 million in sales and net income of US$6.9 million or 18¢ per share.