Volatile U.S. stocks end higher, Aug. 8-12

It was one of the most volatile weeks in Wall Street history with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index swinging wildly between Monday and Wednesday before ending higher for two days in a row on Thursday and Friday. For the week, the Dow fell 1.5% or 175.59 points to finish at 11,269.02 while the S&P 500 lost 1.72% or 20.57 points to close at 1,178,81. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver index rose 5.35% or 10.49 points to end the Aug. 8-12 trading week at 206.55.

For the second week in a row Randgold Resources topped the list of value gains, rising US$3.95 to close at US$98.43, on no news. It was a mixed week for Aurizon Mines, which edged up 43¢ to finish at US$6.07. On the same day the company announced that it is delaying the completion of a feasibility study on the Hosco deposit at its Joanna property in Quebec due to higher than anticipated projected capital and operating costs, it reported second-quarter gross profits of $29.1 million, a 45% increase from the year-earlier quarter. Improved operational performance at its Casa Berardi mine also pushed cash flow from operations higher, up 40% year-on-year to $23.1 million. As for Hosco, Aurizon said additional studies and cost-optimization plans are underway, along with further detailed environmental work, which will delay the feasibility study.

A strong second-quarter performance also helped propel shares of AuRico Gold up 28¢ to US$11.92. Operating cash flow in the second quarter increased 247%, net free cash flow jumped 261%, and margins reached a record 75%, the company reported on Aug. 11. AuRico, which reported cash costs of US$384 per gold-equivalent ounce (a 26% improvement over 2010), also said that it has increased its production guidance for the year to between 175,000 and 195,000 oz. gold and 4.95 million to 5.5 million oz. silver. Second-quarter revenues reached US$112.9 million, a 98% increase over the year-earlier quarter.

The second quarter was the first full quarter of production at Nevsun Resources‘ Bisha mine in Eritrea. Production reached 93,000 ounces of gold with an average realized price of US$1,510 per oz., and cash costs of US$301 per oz. The company posted revenues of US$135 million, and its share price rose 28¢ to US$5.57.  The Bisha mine is expected to produce more than 1.14 million ounces of gold, 11.9 million ounces of silver, 821 million pounds of copper, and over 1 billion pounds of zinc during its initially estimated 13-year mine life.