TSX slumps for June 21-25 period

The TSX Composite Index finished the June 21-25 period lower just as the riots around the G20 meetings were getting set to unfold in the streets of Toronto. The weekend meeting ended with leaders agreeing to take different paths for cutting budget deficits and making their banking systems safer.

Heading into the weekend key commodities were slumping with oil falling below US$79 a barrel after reaching its highest price in eight weeks on fears over tropical storm Alex.

The diversified miners didn’t fare so well either as evidenced by the Capped Metals & Mining Index. The Index was off over 50 points to 892.62 points as the price of aluminum and nickel fell while copper and tin prices traded flat.

Gold, however, continued to show strengths as the yellow metal finished higher at US$1256.85 an oz. and the Global Gold Index followed suit as it climbed 5 points for the period.

It was a busy period for Olympus Pacific Minerals and the market signaled that all the activity was worth its while. The Toronto-based company finished the period 22% higher at 33¢ after announcing it had close a private placement and increased its gold resources. The private placement, which included a gold note, added $21 million to company coffers. Money that will be well spent in Asia where the company announced it has increased gold resource at its Bau gold project in Malaysia by 52% and at its Phouc Son gold project in Vietnam by 16%. Together the two projects now have measured and indicated resource of 14.8 million tonnes grading 2.14 grams gold for 1.02 million oz. of gold.

Positive developments at its El Oro gold project in Mexico had Candente Gold climbing for the period as well. The Vancouver-based junior was up 21% to 76¢ for the period after announcing it had rehabilitated a tunnel on its property that allowed for it to begin drilling a key underground vein there. Preliminary work on the zone beneath a historic mine has the company believing that it could find 3 to 4 million tonnes of ore grading 10 to 12 grams gold per tonne and 120 to 160 grams silver. The vein in question, known as San Rafael, produced over 4 million oz. of gold and 44 million oz. of silver between 1896 and 1927.

Solid results from two separate zones at its Back River project in Nunavut helped propel Sabina Gold and Silver up the market ranks as well. The company was up 17% to $2.64 for the period after it first announced an assay result of 18.66 grams gold over 13 metres at its Llama Lake discovery, and then followed that up with the release of an assay grading 11.32 grams gold over 11 metres at its Umwelt Lake discovery. Back River currently has a resource of 3.4 million tonnes grading 10.9 grams gold for 1.19 million oz.