The Canadian markets started the trading week off by going on their usual roller coaster ride with gains seen at the open gradually eroding into solid losses by the close of Monday trading. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange fell 0.63%, while the TSX Gold Index gained 3.7% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, lost 0.24% with the declining issuers beating out the advancers by a 458 to 399 margin on volume of 244 million shares traded.

After making a stink ball bid earlier in the year, Rusoro Mining has come back and is offering three of its share for every Gold Reserve (AMEX:GRZ) share. The move would alleviate Gold Reserve’s problem in Venezuela because Rusoro has the ears of the Chavez government. Rusoro ended the day down C$0.105 at C$0.255, while Gold Reserve soared C$0.28 to close at C$0.73.

Due to reduced

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The base metals were mixed on Friday. Copper bottomed below $1.48 in the pre-dawn hours, but then pushed higher until the late morning, when it came off its highs to finish at $1.5752/lb., up 5½ cents. Nickel rose from the pre-dawn hours to mid-morning, trailed off, but then rallied late to close at $4.5503/lb., up 9¼ cents.

Zinc also rallied until mid-morning, but then eased for the rest of the day, ending at $0.5256/lb., down more than a third of a cent. Aluminum peaked in the pre-dawn hours but sank through the day, just coming off its intraday low at $0.7759/lb., down three-quarters of a cent, while lead followed aluminum closely, winding up with a loss of a third of a cent, at $0.5259/lb.

Copper rebounded from a fresh 3½-year low to post a day of solid gains amid a great deal of short covering.

Still, most analysts continue to

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After an ever so brief reprieve the bears returned and once again started mauling the bulls during Wednesday’s trading session on the Canadian markets. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange plunged 5.32%, while the TSX Gold Index tanked 8.5% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, lost 5.71% with the declining issuers outpacing the advancers by a 607 to 224 margin, on volume of 141 million shares traded. Going from the penthouse to the poorhouse, Teck Cominco (NYSE:TCK) is looking at several options to trim costs. A series of investments over the past two years has pushed the company from a cash-rich state to a cash poor one, with reports out that the diversified miner will cut its dividend, cut spending on development projects such as the Fort Hills oil sands, its Galore Creek copper project in British Columbia and its Petaquilla copper

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The junior bourse broke through the 2002 lows but the big board managed a late day rally to finish in the black during Thursday trading on the Canadian markets.

For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange added 1.03%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 4.1% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, lost 4.73% with the declining issuers out pacing the advancers by a 650 to 266 margin on volume of 190 million shares traded.

Teck Cominco (NYSE:TCK) tabled earnings of C$432 million, or C$0.97 per share in the third quarter of 2008, compared with C$495 million, or C$1.16 per share tallied in the same period a year earlier. The bottom line was hit by lower copper and zinc prices with higher coal operating profits limiting the impact. Teck ended the day down C$1.78 at C$12.54.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE:POT) saw its third quarter

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The base metals were mixed on Thursday. Copper went on a wild ride, rising and falling sharply through a 10-cent range before settling little changed at $1.8571/lb., down just a penny.

Nickel fell until mid-morning, before rallying back a little bit to close at $4.2018/lb., down better than 26 1/3 cents. Zinc had a pleasantly good day, rising fairly steadily to finish at $0.5101/lb., up more than 3½ cents. Aluminum also pushed higher, adding more than a penny and three-quarters, to $0.8918/lb., while lead moved up modestly, tacking on less than a penny, to $0.558/lb.

Once again copper failed to gain much traction, although it came well off its lows for the day (and a fresh 3-year low), as fear continues to dominate. The metal is now down 58% since July.

Even producers are getting pessimistic. Copper’s swift and savage fall has ushered in “the end of the supercycle” for the metal, says

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History of Zinc (from International Zinc Association, (http://www.iza.com/uses.html) Centuries before zinc was discovered in the metallic form, its ores were used for making brass and zinc compounds, its ores were used for healing wounds and sore eyes. It is believed that the Romans first made brass in the time of Augustus (20 B.C. - 14 A.D.). In the 13th century Marco Polo described the manufacture of zinc oxide in Persia. At Zawar, India, both zinc metal and zinc oxide were produced from the 12th to the 16th century. From India, zinc manufacturing moved to China in the 17th century where it developed as an industry to supply the needs of the brass industry. In 1743, the first European zinc smelter was established in Bristol in the United Kingdom. A major technological improvement was achieved in Germany which led to the erection of ...

The base metals were all slammed on Thursday. Copper held steady until the New York open, then headed straight down for the rest of the day, finishing at its intraday low of $2.636/lb., down 17 cents. Nickel also plunged, but started earlier and fell more steeply, closing at $6.6776/lb., down 36½ cents.

The onslaught of selling intensified during Monday trading on the Canadian markets as investors look to get out of equities at any cost. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange plunged 6.94%, while the TSX Gold Index lost 0.4% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, fell a mind numbing 8.82% with the declining issuers once again outpacing the advancers, this time by a 779 to 190 margin on volume of 131 million shares traded.