TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE SEPT. 16-22

It was a turbulent week for the TSX Composite Index as ripples from the U. S. government’s proposed US$700-billion financial bailout were felt in Toronto. The Sept 16-22 trading period saw the TSX fluctuate within a 1,000-point range before levelling off somewhere in the middle.

The benchmark index gained 384.04 points overall to close at 12,639.07 after reaching as high as 12,912.99 following news that the U. S. Federal Reserve and the U. S. Treasury would inject as much as US$180 billion into global money markets.

Amidst the shakiness of the banking system and equity markets, gold surged to US$898.30 per oz. after plunging to US$740.75 on Sept. 11, much to the delight of gold bugs. The Global Gold Index grew over the period by an eye-popping 27%, or 63.28 points, to 292.15.

While the top gainer by value was Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, up $22 per share to $185.83, some of the big gold producers also did well. Agnico-Eagle Mines was up $13.98 to $68.32, Barrick Gold rose $9.94 per share to $39.61 and Goldcorp stock grew by $9.40 to $37.89.

And as logic would have it, those bearish on gold were among the top losers over the period. At the top was the Horizons BetaPro Global Gold Bear+ exchange-traded fund, down nearly 42% to $9.21.

Katanga Mining was next, falling $1.48 to $6.13 share, despite telling Reuters news service that it expects it will be able to raise $550 million to build a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, even in the midst of the current credit crisis. Katanga is developing the KOV deposit, next to its Komoto mine, and anticipates raising production to 300,000 tonnes of copper by 2011 from 27,500 tonnes in 2008.

More good news for a Congo-focused company: Banro, up 120%, gained the most on a percentage basis to close out at $3.70 per share. The company closed a US$19.25-million public offering of 11 million units at US$1.75 per unit. Each unit consisted of one share and half a warrant. Banro plans to use the money to fund its Twangiza, Namoya and Lugushwa gold projects.

Central Sun Mining shares were up 90% over the period to 80 per share. The company recently organized debt funding of US$22.5 million over four years. The money will go towards converting its Orosi gold mine in Nicaragua from a heap-leach operation to a conventional milling operation. Gold recoveries are expected to increase to more than 90% with the new system from 38%, with annual gold production to reach about 80,000 oz. Central Sun expects commissioning to take place in the first quarter of 2009.

Sterling Mining shares fell nearly 42% to 21 apiece after the company said it was stopping production at its Sunshine silver mine, in Idaho. The company first decided to rehabilitate the mine in 2003, reaching production in late 2007, but Sterling is unable to continue to finance the mine’s operations because production has not ramped up as much as it had planned.