14-Nov-07
20-Nov-07
26-Nov-07
30-Nov-07
6-Dec-07
12-Dec-07
18-Dec-07
24-Dec-07
2-Jan-08
8-Jan-08
14-Jan-08
18-Jan-08
24-Jan-08
30-Jan-08
5-Feb-08
11-Feb-08
15-Feb-08
22-Feb-08
28-Feb-08
S&P/TSX Venture Index Value
100
175
250
325
400
TSX Venture Vol (M)
TSX-Venture Daily Trading Volume S&P/TSX Venture Index
Source: Thomson One
Junior Mining Weekly | 3
4 March 2008
The TSX Venture Exchange averaged 231.3 million shares traded per day last week
(Figure 4). We are beginning to see more interest in the junior mining sector, which
bodes well for valuations.
Figure 4: TSX Venture Exchange one-week volume
Monday Feb 25/08 208,203,808
Tuesday Feb. 26/08 197,530,448
Wednesday Feb. 27/08 253,376,928
Thursday Feb. 28/08 254,182,832
Friday Feb. 29/08 243,402,272
Total 1,156,696,288
Daily average 231,339,258
Source: Thomson One
Base metal and precious metal prices continue to be strong, particularly gold, and
investors are beginning to take a closer look at the downstream companies that offer
new production, resource growth and exploration potential. This week, Toronto hosts the
PDAC mining convention which is estimated to attract more than 27,000 attendees.
Retail investors, institutional investors, mining executives, mining analysts (ourselves
included), bankers and many others will all be clambering to get project updates, find
new stories, pitch M&A deals, raise money and generate news flow.
We note that there is often a run-up in equity values prior to the PDAC and a lull in the
junior market following the convention. Mining companies tend to issue press releases
prior to or during the PDAC in order to attract attention and have something new to talk
about during the convention. This can lead to a quiet period after the conference. In
addition, the period following the PDAC is usually a time when the holding period for
share and warrant issues expires for financings completed in November to December of
the year before. We believe that, this year, there is strong potential for junior mining
equities to buck the trend. In November and December 2007, far fewer financings were
completed than usual on account of the unfavourable market conditions. As a result, we
should not see a large influx of inexpensive warrants being exercised and sold, putting
pressure on companies’ share prices.
We are beginning to see risk capital return to the junior mining space. In the past two
weeks, we have seen both base metal and precious metal junior equities begin to gather
momentum. M&A activity has been noticeably absent of late; however, we believe that it
is only a matter of time before the senior, intermediate and more liquid junior producers
begin to look at downstream acquisitions to bolster project pipelines. Momentum is
building, but don’t assume a smooth transition. Late last week, fears of credit-related
writedowns at Bank of Montreal sparked a 291 point drop on the S&P/TSX Composite
Index (2%) and a 5% drop in BMO’s share price. In other words, volatility continues. We
recommend that investors build up their portfolios with those junior companies that
possess quality development projects, prospective land positions, tried and tested
management teams with a record of success, and a stable of news flow to generate
interest over the next three to twelve months.
Commere Resources INFO