Starfield, Far West lead gainers

Vancouver — Canada’s junior exchange posted gains in the resource sector but not enough to keep the composite index from wallowing. The Canadian Venture Exchange composite index dropped 6.2 points, or 0.2%, to close the week ended Oct. 30 at 2,925.46. The mining index jumped 74 points, or 1%, to close at 7,456.50.

Starfield Resources topped this week’s most actively traded chart among junior explorers, adding 7 to its value and closing at 55 on a volume of 3.4 million shares. The junior is investigating the prospects of a high-grade platinum-palladium zone at the Ferguson Lake project in Nunavut. Hole 101 cut a 0.35-metre section running 26.7 grams platinum and 103 grams palladium from a down-hole depth of 962.28 metres.

Far West Mining tacked on 8 and closed at 40 with 2.8 million shares traded. Investors are awaiting results from a 6,000-metre drill program at its Great Bear iron-oxide-hosted copper-gold project in the Northwest Territories, a joint venture with BHP Billiton. The $1.2-million effort tested 10 targets.

Samex Mining gave back 2 to close at 9 on 1.6 million shares. Results from the first few holes of a planned 600-metre drill program over the Eskapa copper-gold property in Bolivia are expected shortly.

Freewest Resources found a penny to close the week at 30 on a volume of 1.5 million shares. The company uncovered bonanza gold grades from the Clarence Stream property in New Brunswick. Prospecting over a gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly returned up to 418.35 grams of the yellow metal per tonne. The average grade of 27 samples collected over the 1.8-km anomaly was 22.6 grams.

Vital Pacific Resources is looking to consolidate its share capital and change its name to Reliance Resources. Plans call for shares to be rolled back on a 10-to-1 basis; what would remain would be just over 3 million shares. The stock closed down 2 to 2 with 1.4 million shares traded.

Rubicon Minerals added 1 to close at 36 with 1.4 million shares traded. The junior is trying to raise $1.2 million to finance drilling on its Red Lake gold properties in Ontario.

Investors sold off shares in Quaterra Resources following the release of assays from a 4-hole program at the Union Bay platinum-palladium project in Alaska. The first hole hit 10.6 grams platinum and 0.56 gram palladium over 0.5 metre from a down-hole depth of 19.1 metres. Quaterra ended the week at 14, down 7 on 1.3 million shares.

Poplar Resources posted results from drilling at its Bottenbacken polymetallic project. Borehole BB-5 was drilled into the Storuggen South induced-polarization anomaly. A 0.6-metre test section of the hole returned 0.96% copper plus 1.42 grams palladium, 0.86 grams gold, 0.06 gram platinum and 5.7 grams silver per tonne. The company lost a penny to close at 14 with 1.1 million shares traded.

Majescor Resources recently raised $400,000 in a brokered deal in addition to an earlier $2 million flow-through financing. Proceeds will be used to explore diamond projects in northern Quebec. Majescor lost 6 and closed at 64 on 823,000 shares.

Oliver Gold attracted interest, closing up 3 to 21 on 750,000 shares. The company recently proposed a merger with privately held Hasting Resources, which, in turn, has an option to aquire the Ona-Puma nickel laterite property in Brazil from Inco.