STOCK MARKETS — VSE resource index rebounds after Yeltsin

A move by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to abolish the current communist-dominated parliament and call new elections for December sent gold on a rollercoast ride late in the period ended Sept. 21.

Bullion jumped US$9.20 the day of the announcement but dropped back to the US$352-per-oz. level at presstime, apparently on a general lack of unrest and violence in the country.

The Vancouver Stock Exchange resource index rebounded, with gold finishing up 93 points at 1,294.28 while the composite index edged up six points to close at 964.14.

The release of very positive valuation results from the Lac de Gras pipes under exploration by Dia Met Minerals and BHP Minerals in the Northwest Territories helped members of the DHK syndicate which is exploring nearby. The main players in the DHK syndicate all posted gains, with Dentonia Resources up 83 cents at $5.63, Kettle River Resources up 75 cents at $9.75 and Alberta-listed Horseshoe Gold Mining up 95 cents at $5.50. Commonwealth Gold, which holds a 5% interest in the project, gained a dime on more than 1.2 million shares.

The pipe which Kennecott is planning to bulk-sample on the DHK ground has returned diamond counts comparable to the original Point Lake pipe. The fact that Dia Met and BHP have no further plans for the Point Lake pipe doesn’t faze analysts John Kaiser and Andrew Muir of Pacific International Securities.

The two note that the move does not necessarily indicate that the pipe is uneconomic, only that it may not be the best prospect.

Public awareness of Robert Friedland’s legal battle with the CBC over the airing of a Fifth Estate program on environmental problems at the Summitville mine in Colorado did not have much of an effect on any of the companies in which he is involved.

Plans for the program were widely known within the investment community and it was largely discounted by the market. Still, Friedland made a serious blunder by trying to suppress bad publicity which only returned in spades. News from Placer Dome that its 70%-owned Las Cristinas property in Venezuela contains an estimated 4.8 million oz. gold likely helped two Friedland companies which are active in the country.

Venezuelan Goldfields, which owns ground near Las Cristinas, closed up $2.50 at $9 while Consolidated Cassandra Resources, which holds ground in other parts of the country, gained 35 cents to close at $3.75.

Diamond Fields Resources, a Friedland company with diamond interests in Namibia and gold interests in Venezuela, jumped 70 cents to close at $3.65. Other companies active in the Kilometre 88 region also benefited from the Placer announcement.

Crystallex International and Eurus Resource, which are developing the Albino concession, both gained ground, with Crystallex up $1 at $8.50 and Eurus up 12 cents at 95 cents.

A suit in the British Columbia Supreme Court by Gagan Gold against Crystallex and others was of little help to Gagan which lost 4 cents to close at 44 cents.

The company is claiming, among other things, trust interests in the Santa Elena and Albino properties in Venezuela.

The Placer news also helped Canarc Resource, giving the issue a 50 cents boost to $2.85.

A drop in the price of nickel below the US$2-per-lb. level to US$1.90 per lb. did not seem to affect Sutton Resources which owns an interest in a large nickel exploration and development project in Tanzania with partner BHP Minerals.

Sutton finished up $1.63 at $20.

The rebound in gold helped junior producer Prime Resources Group with a $1.25 gain to $7.13.

Miramar Mining recently won board approval for the purchase of the Con gold mine in Yellowknife, N.W.T., and plans to hold a minority shareholder vote in mid-October. The issue gained 25 cents to close at $4.80.