The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index dropped 1.2%, or 166 points, to 576.6. Base metals declined across the board after a U.S. employment report showed recovery in the U.S. labour market that could lead to higher interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Three-month copper contracts at the London Metal Exchange fell 1.4% to US$5,145 per tonne, and similar contracts for nickel were down 1% to US$10,825 per tonne. Zinc dropped to 3.7% to US$1,860 per tonne, and lead fell 0.7% to US$1,694 per tonne.
Gold stayed relatively flat at US$1,093.5 per oz., while silver finished at US$14.8 per oz., up 1.4%.
Brent crude oil spot price also fell 10.8% from US$53.29 to US$47.54.
Gold Reserve shares climbed 33% to $4.23 after the company announced progress with the Venezuelan government regarding a $757-million arbitration award to the company.
The dispute started in 2009, when the Venezuelan government nationalized the company’s Las Brisas gold-copper concession — one of Latin America’s largest gold deposits — as part of a policy to increase state control of economic sectors.
The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes tribunal determined last September that Venezuela must pay for ending the concession.
Gold Reserve gives no timeline for any reimbursement, but states that both parties are working towards a resolution.
Banks Island Gold placed its Yellow Giant gold mine in Banks Island, B.C., on care and maintenance, as it seeks regulatory approval to resume operations after sediment discharged into the environment at the underground mine in June.
The announcement came in part with the company’s quarterly earnings, which said that the delayed production and uncertain timelines for permitting casts doubt on the company. The news drove shares 40% down to 3¢.
The company is seeking immediate financing until it can amend its permits.
Doubleview Capital dropped 24% to 10¢ at close, as the company has yet to resume exploration at its copper-gold Hat project in Sheslay Valley, B.C., after a dispute with the Tahltan First Nation.
The company was completing a drill program on the copper-gold porphyry target when elders from the Tahltan Nation blockaded access to the property in July.
The Tahltan Central Council said the nation was not properly consulted before Doubleview gained a five-year exploration permit by the Ministry of Energy and Mines in April.
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