STOCK MARKETS — Mining-led VSE makes a turnaround in August — Market provides mixed bag for juniors working abroad

Led by mining issues, the Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index ended a 5-month slide in August by posting a 3% gain over the month of July. The mining indicator added 3% to its value during the month.

Over the holiday-shortened report period ended Sept. 2, the composite index rose 8.73 points, or 1%, to close at 842.33. The mining index was up 4.57 points, or 0.6%, at 757.56.

The combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange finished at 2,428.68, up 57.63 points, or 2.4%.

Mar-West Resources remained unchanged at $3 in active trading. The company remains a serious takeover candidate as it prepares to resume drilling at its 80%-held San Martin concession in Honduras. Curion Ventures, which holds the remaining 20% interest in the property, slipped 4 cents to 44 cents.

Balaclava Mines rose 24 cents to $1.19. The company is primarily focused on gold exploration in Peru. It shares common management with Mar-West Resources and Toronto-listed Tombstone Explorations.

Rupert Resources was up 28 cents at 88 cents. The company has signed an agreement to acquire up to a 75% interest in sub-surface mineral rights and up to a 50% interest in a tailings reprocessing project at the former-producing Crown diamond mine in South Africa. In order to fund a due diligence review, Rupert has engaged C.M. Oliver to raise $1 million through an initial private placement financing of 1.5 million units at 70 cents each.

GMD Resource closed up 70 cents at $3.70. The company released further results from definition drilling on its Discovery gold property, 90 km from Yellowknife, N.W.T. GMD also entered into an agreement to earn a 50% interest from Starcore Resources in the Dogpaw gold property, south of Kenora, Ont.

Starcore was down 3 cents to 28 cents.

Five of six drill holes completed on the Turnagain property near Dease Lake, B.C., are reported to have encountered disseminated to semi-massive sulphide mineralization. Bren-Mar Resources edged up a penny to 86 cents.

Drilling by Mink International Resources at the Niaouleni gold project in Mali intersected a 7.2-metre interval of quartz breccia in the South Niaouleni zone averaging 6.48 grams gold per tonne, including a 0.25-metre quartz vein grading 154.9 grams. The issue was up 13 cents at 65 cents.

Northrich Pacific Ventures fell 3 cents to 25 cents after entering into an agreement to acquire a half interest in a series of slag gold deposits in Argentina.

Brandon Gold was unchanged at $2 after announcing that its 60%-owned subsidiary, Minera Caracol, had acquired three additional concessions in Mexico’s Guerrero state mining district. The company now controls more than 2,000 sq. km of ground prospective for precious and base metals.

Sutton Resources has entered into an agreement with a group of underwriters, who have agreed to buy 2.2 million special warrants at $12.80 each. Proceeds of $28.2 million will be used to accelerate development work, including shaft-sinking, at the Bulyanhulu gold project in Tanzania. Sutton finished at $13.30, up 30 cents.

Alberta-listed Sepik Gold was up 16 cents at $1.10. Sepik released preliminary trenching and sampling results from a 239-sq.-km gold-copper exploration licence in Papua New Guinea, held under joint venture with Placer Explorations.

Francisco Gold closed down $3.35 to $20.90 after releasing results from the final holes of a third phase of drilling at its El Sauzal bulk-tonnage gold project in Mexico’s Chihuahua state. To date, 86 holes over 14,950 metres have been completed at the project, and Francisco has budgeted $8 million over the next 12 months for ongoing exploration and development.