U.S. Markets (February 25, 2008)

The markets rallied early on in the week before losing steam during the abbreviated Feb. 12-15 trading session, cut short by Presidents Day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 108.20 points to close at 12,348.21, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index inched up 10.86 points to close at 1,349.99.

In the precious metals sector, gold stocks didn’t have a great week, with the price of gold closing at US$901.70 per oz. on Feb. 15, down from its US$922.20 close on Feb. 11. The Amex Gold Bugs Index fell 10.51 points to 435.06, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index slid 4.76 points to close at 177.32. Barrick Gold dropped US$2.30 to US$47.59, Agnico-Eagle Mines fell US$1.66 to US$62.59 and Goldcorp slipped US24 to US$36.86. Lihir Gold lost US$1.57 to close the session at US$31.49.

Threats by the Indonesian government to revoke the licence of the Batu Hijau gold mine on the eastern island of Sumbawa helped drive down shares of Newmont Mining US$3.03 to US$47.89. Indonesia’s Mines Ministry said in a letter to the Denver, Colo.-based company on Feb. 11 that its mining licence could be cancelled if Newmont and its Japanese partner, Sumitomo Corp., didn’t divest a 10% stake in the project to a local entity by Feb. 22.

On other fronts, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton both reversed their poor performance in the previous trading session, climbing US$23.55 to US$435.55 and US$4.16 to US$70, respectively.

Other bright spots were to be found among the fertilizer manufacturers, who have seen prices for their products soar. Demand for food from Asia and other regions is expected

U.S. most active issues

to fuel a mini-boom for North American farmers, prompting some analysts to describe grain and other cereal crops as some of the world’s hottest commodities. Mosaic Co., one of the largest fertilizer producers in the U.S., saw its shares climb US$3.84

U.S. greatest percentage change

to US$103.37, while shares of Cleveland, Ohio-based OM Group, a leading producer of metal-based specialty chemicals, rose US$6.20 to US$58.10. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan jumped US$3.80 to US$147.88.

U.S. greatest value change

	VOLUME	WEEK
	( 000s) HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Vale* RIO	89655 33.22	31.01	32.03	+ 0.12
Alcoa* AA	65581 36.43	33.26	35.72	+ 1.66
Freeport McMo* FCX	43824 96.00	90.47	93.18	– 0.30
Barrick Gold* ABX	43048 50.52	47.18	47.59	– 2.30
Arch Coal* ACI	32076 55.21	47.12	49.40	– 5.36
Coeur d Alene* CDE	30039 4.44	4.21	4.37	– 0.02
Newmont Mng* NEM	30013 50.97	47.60	47.89	– 3.03
Potash C Sask* POT	29671 154.63	144.86	147.88	+ 3.80
Goldcorp* GG	26308 37.59	35.22	36.86	– 0.24
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	23951 59.55	53.43	55.63	– 0.89

		VOLUME		WEEK
		( 000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
World Vent*	WVNTF	689	0.12	0.04	0.12	+ 160.8
North Am En P*	NOA	565	14.71	10.15	14.29	+ 40.5
AmMex Gold*	AMXG	363	0.18	0.12	0.16	+ 33.3
Beeston Ent*	BESE	171	0.22	0.18	0.22	+ 29.4
Geocom Res*	GOCM	36	0.189	0.141	0.189	+ 26.0
Diamond Discv*	DMDD	3594	0.011	0.006	0.01	+ 25.0
Alumina Inc*	AWC	707	21.73	17.92	21.67	+ 19.2
IMA Expl*	IMR	347	0.44	0.37	0.422	+ 14.0
Tara Gold*	TRGD	502	0.41	0.35	0.41	+ 13.5
Cream Mnrls*	CRMXF	27	0.371	0.34	0.365	+ 13.3
Brookmount Ex*	BMXI	56	0.35	0.19	0.21	– 30.0
Sao Luis Mng*	SAOL	410	0.10	0.072	0.074	– 26.0
HE- 5 Res*	HRRN	55	0.075	0.05	0.05	– 25.3
FinMetal Mng*	FNMM	2420	0.08	0.051	0.06	– 24.0
Gemini Expl*	GXPI	2065	0.082	0.065	0.068	– 17.0
Minefinders*	MFN	2049	11.52	9.47	9.65	– 15.3
Raven Gold*	RVNG	232	0.785	0.55	0.64	– 14.6
Commerce Grp*	CGCO	104	0.30	0.21	0.26	– 13.3
Klondike Star*	KDSM	71	0.60	0.45	0.51	– 12.0
Golden Phoen*	GPXM	518	0.278	0.23	0.24	– 11.1

WEEK
	VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Rio Tinto* RTP	1148128	435.55	+ 23.55
OM Group* OMG	3597685	58.10	+ 6.20
Yanzhou Coal* YZC	622796	89.07	+ 4.66
BHP Billi- BHP* BHP	16176325	70.00	+ 4.16
North Am En P* NOA	564600	14.29	+ 4.12
Mosaic* MOS	21388025	103.37	+ 3.84
Potash C Sask* POT	29671088	147.88	+ 3.80
Cameco Corp* CCJ	14546414	36.22	+ 3.72
Alumina Inc* AWC	707311	21.67	+ 3.49
BHP Billi- BBL* BBL	1650000	61.64	+ 2.96
CONSOL Energy* CNX	16812271	75.08	– 5.88
Foundatn Coal* FCL	7795647	50.46	– 5.73
Arch Coal* ACI	32076021	49.40	– 5.36
Newmont Mng* NEM	30013152	47.89	– 3.03 < /td>
Barrick Gold* ABX	43048044	47.59	– 2.30
Pan Am Silver* PAAS	3990387	33.85	– 1.84
Minefinders* MFN	2048857	9.65	– 1.75
Agnico- Eagle* AEM	9117272	62.59	– 1.66
Lihir Gold* LIHR	687259	31.49	– 1.57
Teck Comin B* TCK	4480273	33.07	– 1.52