MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — WESTERN MARKETS — Resource stocks stagnate under Western malaise

The Vancouver Stock Exchange indices continued their downward spiral during the report period ended Aug. 25. The composite index lost 18.67 points, or 4.2%, to close the week at 430.41, while the mining index plummeted 13.99 points, or 4.5%, to finish just slightly above the 300 mark. Meanwhile, the combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange lost 42.06 points, or 2.2%, to close at 1,854.36.

Alberta-listed Gallery Resources made repeated appearances on that exchange’s most active list. The company announced it had discovered semi-massive-to-massive sulphide mineralization on its Harp Lake 2 property in central Labrador. Assays from five chip samples yielded values ranging from 0.42%-0.7% nickel, 0.08%-0.15% cobalt and 0.34%-0.42% copper. The surface showings trend towards a strong electromagnetic anomaly 6,000 ft. to the west. Drilling is expected to begin shortly. Gallery rose 8 cents to close at 50 cents.

Winspear Resources lost 8 cents to close the week at $1.18. A 28-hole, 2,800-metre diamond drilling program is under way in the Snap Lake area of the Camsell Lake property in the Northwest Territories. The program’s price tag is set at $1.3 million, and additional drilling of up to 4,700 metres is contingent upon positive results. The program is designed to test the thickness variations and structural continuity of the NW Dyke, which appears to have a strike length of 800 metres and a downdip extension of up to 1.8 km. Winspear can earn a 68% stake in the property, with the remainder held by Toronto-listed Aber Resources.

Anzex Resources, which lost 25 cents to close at 75 cents, released an update of drilling being carried out at its Longwoods platinum project in New Zealand. Drilling has begun on the third hole, which is expected to reach a depth of about 500 metres. The hole has been collared about 1.5 km southwest of hole 2, which was terminated at a depth of 866 metres. A full report on the first-phase, 3-hole program will be released in late September or early October, and more drilling is planned for the coming New Zealand summer. Anzex has $1.6 million in the till.

Spire Ventures gained a few pennies to close at 25 cents. A 6-to-8-hole drill program is in progress on the company’s Cikatomas gold project in West Java. The holes are testing the Box Hill prospect, where channel sampling has revealed assay values as high as 76.3 grams gold per tonne (uncut) and 14.58 grams (cut to 30 grams) over widths of 2.1 and 5.3 metres, respectively.

Bell Coast Capital lost 12 cents to close at

27 cents. The company is raising $650,000 by means of a private placement of 1.3 million units priced at 50 cents each.

Alberta-listed Alberta Diamondfields rose 4 cents to close at 54 cents. The company says it has received expressions of interest for a private placement of 5 million shares at 15 cents each. Most of the proceeds would be used to evaluate five diamond permits in northeastern Alberta.