STOCK MARKETS — Western markets continue to show signs of life — Junior companies vie for attention of bargain-hunters

A month or so ago, western markets were hit by the double whammy of low gold prices and the post-Bre-X blues. But over our report period ended Aug.

5, a pulse and a heartbeat could be heard on both the Vancouver and Alberta Stock Exchanges as bargain-hunters began to browse the merchandise and make trades.

Reflecting bullish markets in general, the VSE Composite Indicator continued an upward trend and closed at 824.83, for a gain of 15.38 points from a week ago. The mining index followed suit, rising a respectable 13.31 points to close at 740.22.

The combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange was up a healthy 46 points at 2331.3, which is not bad news for an exchange that has taken a beating since its former darling, Bre-X Minerals, crashed and burned in early May of this year.

Two Alberta-listed juniors, Columbia Yukon Resources and South Pacific Resources, were the most active traders on western markets over our report period. South Pacific, a junior with a sizable land package in Indonesia, was ahead 11 cents at 50 cents.

Columbia Yukon was up 9 cents at 61 cents as investors watched the progress of two drilling programs near Voisey’s Bay, Labrador, including one managed by resource giant Falconbridge.

Juniors working near the fabulous Voisey’s Bay nickel deposit have not had any luck finding “Voisey’s Bay II,” though many are still hard at it and hope to get lucky this summer season.

NDT Ventures is still among the hopefuls, though just to be on the safe side, the junior is casting an eye for mineral projects farther afield. Toward that end, the Vancouver-based junior picked up some ground in Brazil’s world-famous Quadrilatero Ferrifero gold district. The company plans to carry out a 3-phase exploration program with a budget of about $1.5 million over the next year.

Another Alberta-listed junior, Savanna Resources, was up a penny at 11 cents after announcing preliminary results from two bulk samples of alluvium from its Lawa gold property in Suriname. The junior says the first pit yielded 64 grams of raw gold from 250 cubic metres of material, while the second yielded 140 grams from 350 cubic metres. These grades are in keeping with records from earlier mine workings, Savanna adds. The company hopes to upgrade the alluvial mining operation and, at the same time, drill bedrock targets on the property.

Diamond explorer Winspear Resources lost ground this week, with the junior shedding 24 cents to settle at $1.48.

Lone Star Exploration was up 6 cents at 31 cents after reporting that its shareholders had voted in favor of a series of transactions that would result in the creation of a new international resource group backed by South African mining house, JCI Limited. Shareholders of

Australian-based Kimberley Resources, a diamond exploration company, also voted in favor of the deal, which would result in Kimberley holding a 49.5% interest in Lone Star.

Lone Star, meanwhile, has received approval to increase its stake in the Awak Mas gold project in Indonesia to 100% from 45%. The project is at the feasibility study stage.