Slumping mining index burdens CDNX

Vancouver — Canada’s junior exchange continued to drift lower as all indices except oil-and-gas ended the Feb. 14-20 report period in the red. The Canadian Venture Exchange slumped 94.78 points, or 2.9%, to finish the week at 3,123.69. The mining index dropped 52.18 points, or 0.9%, to close at 6,062.99.

This week’s darling, Hixon Gold Resources, topped the most-actively-traded chart on news it has purchased all the issued and outstanding shares of Aloak, a private company that offers business-to-business solutions for small companies that want a commercial internet presence. Shares in Hixon gained 7 to 10 with just over 5.8 million units changing hands.

MacDonald Mines Exploration remained flat at 8, with 1.7 million shares traded. The company continues to wait for results from Lakefield Research regarding a 1-tonne bulk sample of mineralized material from the Cassan Lake PGE property, near Whitefish Falls in northern Ontario. MacDonald will submit the concentrate to Nichromet Extraction, where it will be tested using a patent-protected recovery process.

After a failed foray into the technology arena, Mandorin Goldfields came back into the fold by officially announcing its intent to pursue platinum properties in eastern Africa. Following a recently completed field study, the company will launch an exploration program. Shares in the junior ended the week at 7, up 2 on 1.4 million shares.

Cantex Mine Development remained flat at 15 on a volume of 1.3 million shares. The company has been trading at the lower end of its 52-week range since it announced that Falconbridge International terminated its joint-venture work on the Suwar massive-sulphide project in Yemen.

North American Tungsten posted solid gains, ending the week at 67, up 15, with 1.3 million shares traded. A resurgent market price for tungsten has boosted the stock from 10 in January. The junior holds the dormant CanTung mine in northern Canada and has recently hired Roscoe Postle Associates to prepare an updated report on the company’s tungsten assets. At current prices, the junior believes the operation would be profitable.

Shares in Poplar Resources continued to trade in a narrow range on heavy volume, closing at 15, up 1 on heavy volume of just over 1 million shares. Poplar has made a bid to purchase the remaining shares of North Star Diamonds. North Star is in the midst of a re-evaluation of its Bottenbacken palladium project in central Sweden. North Star also holds the Sundsvall and Kiruna diamond properties in Sweden.

Orogrande Resources surged 6 and closed at 12 on a volume of 850,000 shares. The David Mason-led junior is drilling the Burnt Pond massive-sulphide project, near Buchans, Nfld.

Partners Avalon Ventures and Starcore Resources announced a proposed joint-venture agreement with Placer Dome over the Legris platinum-palladium project, near Thunder Bay, Ont. Placer would have the right to earn a half-interest in the project by spending $4 million on exploration over four years and could ultimately increase its interest to 60% upon delivery of a bankable feasibility study. Starcore’s issue plunged 6 to 26, with 689,000 shares traded, while Avalon lost 2 to close at 78.