STOCK MARKETS — TSE slips as golds slide

The Toronto Stock Exchange suffered a modest loss of 18.49 points, or 0.3%, over the report period ended Feb. 11, to close at 6,126.92.

Trading volumes soared Feb. 5 when 130 million shares crossed the floor and plummeted days later, on Feb. 10, when only 94 million shares passed hands.

Increased trading rounded out the week, with 103 million shares crossing the floor.

The Canadian dollar lost some ground agaist the greenback this week, trading at US73.78 cents at noon on Feb. 12, for a loss of 0.55 cents. A similar loss was felt against the pound and yen, but the loony continued to hold steady against other European currencies.

Gold continued its downward trend, losing US$6.25 on the London bullion market over the report period, and was fixed at US$336.90 per oz. on the morning of Feb. 12. The downfall of the yellow metal also affected silver, which dropped for a second week in a row. It lost 4 cents to close at US$4.82 per oz. Platinum, however, was unaffected by the woes of its neighbors, and received a substantial boost of $2.50 to finish the week at US$352.25 per oz.

The drop in gold prices was reflected in the gold and precious metals sub-index, which closed down on Feb. 11 at 10,484.35, resulting in a loss of 285.12 points, or 2.7%. Pure Gold Resources continued to be the volume champion, with 11.89 million shares trading. The junior fell 3 cents to 38 cents. On the flip side, junior Antares Mining gained 57 cents to finish the week at $1.95, with 4.01 million shares trading. The rise follows the company’s announcement of the completion of due diligence at an Indonesian gold property.

The Busang saga continued, and the word on the street is that the Indonesian government may award gold-finder Bre-X Minerals its long-sought-after contract of work, as well as some say in the choice of a senior partner. The rumors had an positive effect on the issue — Bre-X was ahead 45 cents to close at $22.25. The opposite was felt by heavy-weight contenders Placer Dome and Barrick Gold, as both slipped on the week in sympathy with the gold price. Placer Dome lost 80 cents, closing at $27.15, while Barrick dropped 90 cents, finishing the week at $35.20.

Following the broad market, the base metals and minerals sub-index lost 10.75 points, or 0.2%, to close at 5410.30. On the London Metal Exchange, the base metals lost a little and gained a little. Nickel and zinc were up whereas lead and copper were down. Zinc increased by 1 cents to close at US53 cents per lb. and lead lost a penny to finish at US29 cents per lb. The red metal dropped a modest 2 cents to finish the report period at US$1.07 per lb. and nickel, the big winner, gained 7 cents to close at US$3.52 per lb.

The announcement last week of a new mineralized zone at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador, continues to add to Inco’s coffers. The nickel giant gained 45 cents to finish at $46.30. Despite announcing record net earnings of $138 million in the previous week, Cameco continued its downward spiral, losing $2.45 to close at $51.85.

Among other base metal producers, Noranda was up 55 cents at $32.75, and Falconbridge, which lost the same amount, closed at $29.85. Improving zinc prices gave Cominco a boost of 90 cents to finish at $38.80.

Montreal juniors were especially active, with QEX Resources recording the highest gain, rising $1.05 to close at $3.55. The Montreal-based company recently struck a $20-million deal with a British company to buy a majority interest in one of the world’s largest manganese mines in Bulgaria.

The highest relative gain on the Montreal Exchange went to Vior Mining. A $6.5-million work program is under way at the junior’s Douay-West gold property near Amos, Que., where partner Aurizon Mines is earning a 50% interest. Vior closed at 70 cents for a gain of 20 cents. Another active issue was Espalau Mining, which gained 30 cents to close at $1.20 on the strength of sampling results from its El Paraiso property in Ecuador. Grades of up to several ounces gold over narrow intervals were reported from the program.