TSX ends in positive territory, Nov. 13-19

Canada’s benchmark index rose 2.6%, or 346.65 points, to finish at 13,473.83, a strong recovery from the triple-digit loss it posted during the previous trading period. Gold fell to US$1,065.18 per oz. — its weakest point since February 2010 — before finishing at US$1,081.80 per oz. Silver touched a low of US$14.08 per oz., its worst since late August, while platinum hit its lowest level since December 2008 at US$845 per oz. The S&P/TSX Capped Diversified Metals & Mining Index fell 0.3% to 362.73; the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index rose 2.5% to 46.15; and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index gained 2.7% to 126.43. 

A friendly business combination with Kirkland Lake Gold sent shares of St Andrew Goldfields up 17.1% to 41¢ per share, and shares of Kirkland Lake Gold down 59¢ to $4.77. The US$178-million deal will create an intermediate gold producer with four mines and two mills in Ontario’s Timmins and Kirkland Lake gold camps. The combined company will produce between 260,000 and 310,000 oz. gold next year at cash costs of US$600 to US$690 per oz.

Good quarterly results lifted Tahoe Resources $1.18 to $11.26 per share. In the three months ended Sept. 30, the company reported net earnings of US$13.3 million, or 6¢ per share. Tahoe ended the quarter with US$110.6 million in cash and equivalents. All-in sustaining costs net of by-product credits were US$9.72 per oz. silver produced and US$729 per oz. gold produced. The company also reported that it set a quarterly production record of 5.8 million oz. silver at its Escobal mine in Guatemala, and that its Shahuindo mine construction in Peru is on track for the first gold pour early in 2016.

Shares of B2Gold were the most traded, and gained 5¢ to $1.44. In the third quarter the company reported a net of loss of US$13.6 million, or 2¢ per share, compared to a net loss of US$274.1 million, or 39¢ per share, in the same quarter of 2014. (The net loss in the 2014 quarter included a US$298.4-million impairment charge, after lower long-term gold price assumptions in the company’s life-of-mine plans for its goodwill and investment in the Gramalote joint venture.) Adjusted net income in the three months ended Sept. 30 was US$2.2 million, or $0.00 per share, compared to an adjusted net loss of US$4.2 million, or negative 1¢ per share, in the third quarter of 2014. 

B2Gold is on track to meet the lower end of its 2015 production guidance of 500,000 to 540,000 oz. gold — including pre-commercial production from its Otjikoto mine in Namibia. 

Consolidated cash-operating costs in 2015 are an anticipated $630 to $660 per oz., (down from US$680 per oz. in 2014), with all-in sustaining costs from US$950 to US$1,025 per oz.