Vancouver — The first trading week of the month was a stellar one for junior explorers as rattled investors snapped up shares in gold-related companies. Nonetheless, the newly minted Standard & Poor’s-TSX Venture composite index lost 8.23 points, or 0.7%, to close the week ended May 7 at 1,149.94.
Seabridge Resources was the most actively traded junior explorer, gaining an impressive 65 to close at $1.62 on nearly 3.8 million shares. Over the past few years, the junior has acquired several North American properties with total resources of some 8.1 million oz. gold. It is currently seeking a name change to Seabridge Gold. A new resource calculation for its Quartz Mountain property, Lake County, Ore., has boosted the measured portion to 3.5 million tonnes grading 0.98 gram gold, using a 0.34-gram-gold-per-tonne cutoff grade.
Another big percentage mover, Andean American Mining, added 52 to close at $1.56 with 1.3 million shares changing hands. Stock in the junior has been moving higher over the past two weeks on news of its first-quarter production results from the pilot plant on the Santa Rosa gold property in Peru. The company has sold 5,227 oz. gold so far this year.
Shares in Francisco Gold continued to soar ahead of the annual meeting set for late May. The Randy Reifel-led company gained $2.65 to close at $18.65 on a volume of nearly 300,000. Toronto-listed Glamis Gold inked a deal to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Francisco. Glamis is offering to exchange 1.55 shares and one share in a new exploration company for each Francisco share. The transaction is expected to close by mid-June.
Gulf International Minerals tacked on 11 to close at 61 on just over 1 million shares. The company hopes to enter production this month at its Aprelevka gold property in northern Tajikistan. At last count, the project held 2 million tonnes grading 6.2 grams gold per tonne.
Dynacor Mines jumped 6 to 59 on 1.8 million shares. The junior received encouraging sample results from its newly acquired Tumipampa gold-copper project in Peru. So far, field work has identified several hydrothermal gold-bearing veins intersecting several sedimentary formations in contact with a porphyritic granodioritic intrusive rock. The company can earn a 60% stake in the property by spending US$1.3 million over five years.
Investors bid up shares in IMA Exploration following news that surface exploration has identified five new targets and expanded the known mineralized zones at the Rio Tabaconas gold property in Peru. The junior ended the week at 56, up 8 on 1.3 million shares.
National Gold added 6 to close at 45 on 1.5 million shares. The junior’s joint-venture partner, Alamos Minerals, is drilling the Salamandra gold property in Mexico. The partners have set their sights on developing the higher-grade core of the deposit, dubbed Estrella. Alamos added 12 to 54 on low volume.
Olympus Pacific Minerals lost 21 to close at $1.07 on nearly 900,000 shares. After spending the last year exploring two high-grade gold shoots on the Phuoc Son property, 140 km southwest of Danang in Central Vietnam, the company is drilling a nearby skarn zone hosting high-grade gold values on surface.
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