Junior miners hit hard during past year

By Craig Wong
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA, Ont. — A volatile stock market and a gloomy outlook for the global economy have sideswiped the stock market value of the top junior mining companies on the TSX Venture Exchange this year and made it more difficult for them to raise cash, according to a new report to be released Monday.

And while there have been hints at a potential turnaround next year, the report by PwC estimated equity financing for the top 100 TSX Venture Exchange junior miners was down 41 per cent to $1.6 billion compared with $2.7 billion raised by the top 100 junior miners last year.

PwC also estimated that the market capitalization of 2012’s top 100 fell 43 per cent compared with 2011’s top 100 as of June 30, with just 14 valued at more than $200 million compared with 36 in 2011.

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