CDNX posts gains on all fronts

Vancouver — With the mining index leading the way, Canada’s junior exchange posted gains on all indices during the report period ended Jan. 9. The Canadian Venture Exchange composite index tacked on 20.95 points, or 0.7%, to close the period at 2928.43. The mining index soared 202.92 points, or 4%, to finish at 5228.98.

Poplar Resources topped the most active list among the junior explorers, closing the period up 9, to 23, on a heavy volume of 3.9 million shares. The company’s subsidiary, North Star Diamonds, has begun a re-evaluation of its Bottenbacken palladium project in central Sweden. Thirty-six previous drill holes returned 0.08-4.18 grams palladium per tonne over widths ranging from 0.9 to 14.3 metres.

Pan Asia Mining continued to trade heavily at the lower end of its 52-week range, losing 4 and closing at 9 on a volume of 2.8 million shares. The company is upgrading the 701 diamond mine in China.

New Blue Ribbon Resources, together with partners Montello Resources and TRI Communications Solutions (formerly Redwood Resources), are waiting for caustic fusion results from their recent drill program on the Kendu diamond target, part of the Legend project in northern Alberta. Assay results are pending. New Blue Ribbon shot up 12 and closed at 30, with 1.8 million shares traded, while Montello tacked on 4 and finished the week at 13 on 1.6 million shares. Montello also recently announced a private placement of 1.75 million units at 10 per unit. TRI Communications closed at 31, up a penny. New Blue Ribbon stands to earn a 60% interest in the Legend property.

Cantex Mine Development tacked on 1 and closed at 18 on the exchange of 1.6 million shares. The Charles Fipke-led company completed geological mapping over the Sadah gold prospect in Yemen, as well as the analysis of 287 soil samples. Anomalous gold values are said to be present in 126 of the samples.

Gallery Resources closed at 16, down a penny, with 882,000 shares changing hands. The company recently completed a series of geophysical surveys and kicked off a 2,500-metre drill program on its Katie massive sulphide property in central Newfoundland.

Starfield Resources found a dime and closed at 58 on 856,000 shares. The junior is working the Ferguson Lake nickel-copper-palladium-

platinum-cobalt project in Nunavut. Last year’s drilling on the West zone boosted the resource estimate to 25 million tonnes grading 0.84% copper, 0.57% nickel and 1.23 grams combined palladium-platinum per tonne.

Tiberon Minerals lost 21 and closed at 95 on 376,000 shares. Check assays returned a 40% increase in tungsten grades in 26 samples from hole 5 on the company’s Nui Phao property in Vietnam. The junior has collared 20 widely spaced holes at Nui Phao. Hole 5 cut the thickest section of retrograde skarn. The remaining assay results are pending.

Aurora Platinum dropped $2.25 and closed at $5. The junior recently inked a deal with Toronto-listed Inco for the use of 54,000 line km of airborne geophysical survey data that pertain to specific areas in Ontario. The junior also kicked off a winter drilling program on the Midrim and Foy copper-nickel-PGM projects in eastern Canada.