Toronto's main market wavered between gains and losses as skittishness about the crisis in Ukraine dominated investor attention. Materials weighed on the index, as gold prices headed for their biggest drop this year.
In corporate activity, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSE:POT), the world’s biggest fertilizer producer, rose 2.3% to $37.93 after the Globe and Mail said BHP Billiton Ltd. may make another bid for the Saskatoon-based company.
Aureus Mining’s (LON:AUE) (TSE:AUE) gold exploration in Liberia has received heavyweight backing from the IFC, which is putting up US$11.1mln out of a US$26mln total funding round. The IFC is the investment arm of the World Bank and will help fund exploration of the deposits that surround Aureus’s flagship New Liberty gold mine development and other licences in its portfolio.
SilverCrest Mines (NYSE MKT:SVLC)(TSE:SVL) posted Tuesday first quarter production that surpassed its corporate guidance, with the company continuing to focus on the final stages of the expansion plan for its Santa Elena mine in Mexico, which is expected to significantly increase its annual output beginning in the middle of this year.
Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK)(TSE:EDR) said Tuesday that exploration drilling at its El Cubo mine in Mexico has extended the recently discovered high grade, silver-gold mineralized zone in the Asuncion area of the Villalpando vein system to over 800 metres long.
Asanko Gold (TSE:AKG) (NYSE MKT:AKG) has agreed to amend its existing project debt facility with Red Kite to reflect its plans to develop the first phase of its flagship mine in Ghana, with definitve agreements expected to be signed this quarter.
Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TSE:TRQ), the Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the Asia Pacific region, dropped to the lowest in two weeks after maintaining 2014 production guidance below last year's output at Rio Tinto Group's Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia.
In the energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, Encana Corp. (TSE:ECA), Canada’s largest natural gas producer, declined 0.6% to $24.63, erasing an earlier rally. The company has filed a preliminary prospectus for an initial public offering of its oil and gas royalty business in Western Canada, which it previously pledged to spin off by mid-2014 as part of a broader restructuring.
In other stocks, Blackberry Ltd. (TSE:BB), the Waterloo, Ontario-based smartphone maker, fluctuated between gains and losses after saying it has made an unspecified investment in NantHealth, a California-based health care IT startup.
Shaw Communications Inc. (TSE:SJR.B), a Western Canada-focused cable-TV and media company, edged down after saying it will trim 400 job as it streamlines its consumer and business services into two new units.
In junior Canadian markets, VentriPoint Diagnostics (CVE:VPT) said Tuesday that the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care in New York City has received approval to conduct a re-admission study with its VMS diagnostic heart analysis system in patients with heart failure. The study will determine if the quantitative assessment of right heart function using Ventripoint's sytems would enable cardiologists to identify those patients most likely to return to hostpital and be re-admitted within 30 days.
Shares of Supreme Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB:SPRWF)(CVE:SL) shed more than 30% on Tuesday after the company said the due diligence period for the potential acquisition of a medical marijuana producing facility in the South Okanagan has been extended until the end of the month. The company told investors that both parties agreed to extend due diligence until April 29th, while Supreme also said it has cancelled its plans for a previously announced private placement financing.
C-COM Satellite Systems (CVE:CMI), a provider of mobile auto-deploying satellite antenna systems, reported Tuesday its twelfth straight profitable quarter but said its earnings in the first quarter were lower by 50% from a year earlier, when the company saw record performance.
First Global Data (CVE:FGD) said Tuesday it has negotiated a share for debt settlement with an "arm's length" creditor, leading it to cancel a total of $60,000 in debt in exchange for 428,571 common shares.
Memex Automation (CVE:OEE), whose MERLIN product works to improve productivity for manufacturers, said Tuesday it has received the 2013 PEM Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for Best Company under 50 employees. Reported by Proactive Investors 11 hours ago.
In corporate activity, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSE:POT), the world’s biggest fertilizer producer, rose 2.3% to $37.93 after the Globe and Mail said BHP Billiton Ltd. may make another bid for the Saskatoon-based company.
Aureus Mining’s (LON:AUE) (TSE:AUE) gold exploration in Liberia has received heavyweight backing from the IFC, which is putting up US$11.1mln out of a US$26mln total funding round. The IFC is the investment arm of the World Bank and will help fund exploration of the deposits that surround Aureus’s flagship New Liberty gold mine development and other licences in its portfolio.
SilverCrest Mines (NYSE MKT:SVLC)(TSE:SVL) posted Tuesday first quarter production that surpassed its corporate guidance, with the company continuing to focus on the final stages of the expansion plan for its Santa Elena mine in Mexico, which is expected to significantly increase its annual output beginning in the middle of this year.
Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK)(TSE:EDR) said Tuesday that exploration drilling at its El Cubo mine in Mexico has extended the recently discovered high grade, silver-gold mineralized zone in the Asuncion area of the Villalpando vein system to over 800 metres long.
Asanko Gold (TSE:AKG) (NYSE MKT:AKG) has agreed to amend its existing project debt facility with Red Kite to reflect its plans to develop the first phase of its flagship mine in Ghana, with definitve agreements expected to be signed this quarter.
Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TSE:TRQ), the Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the Asia Pacific region, dropped to the lowest in two weeks after maintaining 2014 production guidance below last year's output at Rio Tinto Group's Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia.
In the energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, Encana Corp. (TSE:ECA), Canada’s largest natural gas producer, declined 0.6% to $24.63, erasing an earlier rally. The company has filed a preliminary prospectus for an initial public offering of its oil and gas royalty business in Western Canada, which it previously pledged to spin off by mid-2014 as part of a broader restructuring.
In other stocks, Blackberry Ltd. (TSE:BB), the Waterloo, Ontario-based smartphone maker, fluctuated between gains and losses after saying it has made an unspecified investment in NantHealth, a California-based health care IT startup.
Shaw Communications Inc. (TSE:SJR.B), a Western Canada-focused cable-TV and media company, edged down after saying it will trim 400 job as it streamlines its consumer and business services into two new units.
In junior Canadian markets, VentriPoint Diagnostics (CVE:VPT) said Tuesday that the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care in New York City has received approval to conduct a re-admission study with its VMS diagnostic heart analysis system in patients with heart failure. The study will determine if the quantitative assessment of right heart function using Ventripoint's sytems would enable cardiologists to identify those patients most likely to return to hostpital and be re-admitted within 30 days.
Shares of Supreme Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB:SPRWF)(CVE:SL) shed more than 30% on Tuesday after the company said the due diligence period for the potential acquisition of a medical marijuana producing facility in the South Okanagan has been extended until the end of the month. The company told investors that both parties agreed to extend due diligence until April 29th, while Supreme also said it has cancelled its plans for a previously announced private placement financing.
C-COM Satellite Systems (CVE:CMI), a provider of mobile auto-deploying satellite antenna systems, reported Tuesday its twelfth straight profitable quarter but said its earnings in the first quarter were lower by 50% from a year earlier, when the company saw record performance.
First Global Data (CVE:FGD) said Tuesday it has negotiated a share for debt settlement with an "arm's length" creditor, leading it to cancel a total of $60,000 in debt in exchange for 428,571 common shares.
Memex Automation (CVE:OEE), whose MERLIN product works to improve productivity for manufacturers, said Tuesday it has received the 2013 PEM Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for Best Company under 50 employees. Reported by Proactive Investors 11 hours ago.