CANADA STOCKS-TSX barely higher as bank gains offset slips in miners

(Updates prices)

* TSX up 20.82 points, or 0.14 percent, to 15,103.03

* Nine of the TSX's 10 main groups move higher

TORONTO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged higher on Thursday, as declines in mining stocks partly offset gains for several heavyweight banks and a jump in shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.

Valeant climbed 4.1 percent to C$18.63 after the company said it had resolved the concerns of U.S. authorities about its Bausch + Lomb facility in Tampa.

Big banks also gained, helping the financials group add 0.2 percent overall. Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.3 percent to C$93.22, and Toronto-Dominion Bank added 0.3 percent to C$64.14.

At 11:16 a.m. ET (1516 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 20.82 points, or 0.14 percent, to 15,103.03.

Nine of its 10 main groups were higher, with advancers outnumbering decliners by 1.4-to-1.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.3 percent.

Fertilizer company Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc declined 0.9 percent to C$22.11, and diversified miner Teck Resources Ltd fell 1.2 percent to C$29.40.

Among raw materials mined by Teck is copper, whose price in global markets fell 0.6 percent to $6,494.50 a tonne.

It also excavates zinc, whose price retreated 0.9 percent to $3,092.50 a tonne. Earlier in the session it touched its highest level since October 2007.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd, another base metal miner, fell 1.5 percent to C$13.21.

The energy group gained 0.2 percent as oil prices steadied after U.S. data showed a big fall in crude stockpiles but also an increase in production.

Prometic Life Sciences Inc declined 5.6 percent to C$1.18, adding to a string of daily declines since reporting revenue that sharply missed expectations last week. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by W Simon)