5 Top TSX Stocks: Big Gain for Lucara on Diamond Find

Last Friday, the S&P TSX Composite index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) closed down 40.34 points, or 0.3 percent, at 13,433.49 points. For the week as a whole, it gained 2.7 percent. 
On the back of that increase, some TSX-listed resource stocks experienced substantial share price gains. Lucara Diamond (TSX:LUC) was the top gainer by a long shot, and it was followed by Shore Gold (TSX:SGF), St Andrew Goldfields (TSX:SAS), Orbite Technologies (TSX:ORT) and Eco Oro Minerals (TSX:EOM). Here’s what moved those companies’ share prices last week.

Lucara Diamond

Lucara Diamond’s share price rose 30.91 percent last week after it announced the discovery of the world’s second-largest gem-quality diamond at its Botswana-based Karowe mine. The 1,111-carat Type IIa diamond measures 65 by 56 by 40 millimeters in size, and one analyst believes it could sell for $40 to $60 million.
That news, which came Wednesday, was followed Thursday by the discovery of two more exceptional white stones at Karowe. One weighs in at 813 carats and the other is 374 carats, though those numbers are subject to change as the gems have not yet been cleaned. Lucara’s share price ended the week at $2.86.

Shore Gold

Like Lucara, Shore Gold is a diamond company, though its name suggests otherwise. Last week, its share price rose 15.79 percent to reach $0.22. Most recently, on October 21, it released an updated valuation of diamond parcels from its Star-Orion South project.

St Andrew Goldfields

Last week, St Andrew Goldfields saw its share price rise 13.89 percent to hit $0.41. The rise came after an October 16 announcement that Kirkland Lake Gold (TSX:KGI) and St Andrew have entered into a binding definitive agreement under which Kirkland Lake will acquire St Andrew. The deal will create a “multi-asset, Ontario-focused, intermediate gold producer.”

Orbite Technologies

Orbite Technologies is looking to become a key player in the minerals processing industry, and has three business lines: specialty products, waste monetization and commodity minerals. Its share price gained 9.2 percent last week to reach $0.48, though it did not release any news during the period. It last release came on November 13, when it put out its Q3 2015 results.

Eco Oro Minerals

Finally, Eco Oro Minerals enjoyed a share price gain of 8.93 percent last week, ending at $0.61. The company, whose main asset is the Colombia-based Angostura gold-silver project, has not released any news since October 7, when Mark Moseley-Williams was appointed its president and CEO.