Gold glitters after glum week

The TSX Venture Exchange lost another 25 points during the trading period May 12-18 to close at 1,533.94, representing the sixth consecutive weekly decline for the exchange.

The junior mining sector took a pounding as 83 Venture-Exchange-listed companies sunk to new 52-week lows while only six attained 52-week highs. Some signs of a turnaround in gold stocks were evident toward the end of the trading period.

The decline resulted from continued weakness in the gold price, which showed no real direction over the trading period. The yellow metal closed on May 18 at US$376 per oz., almost exactly where it was at the start of the period. The lacklustre performance is due to concerns over U.S. interest rates — concerns that were fed by stronger housing construction and faster-than-expected growth in Japan’s GDP. Silver strengthened a bit to recover about 3% of the ground it lost in the previous week, when its value shrunk by 10%.

The most active traders for the period included EuroZinc Mining, Anaconda Gold and Apac Minerals.

EuroZinc Mining attracted the interest of investors after it acquired the Neves Corvo copper mine in the Alentego region of Portugal for 128 million euros. The company, which operates several other base metal projects in Portugal, closed at 51, up 2.

Anaconda Gold, the second most active trader, tacked on a hefty 45% gain of 10 to close at 33. The Toronto-based junior hit the jackpot with a high-grade drill intersection at the Damoti Lake gold project, 200 km north of Yellowknife, N.W.T. The stand-out intercept was hole 329, which hit 19.95 metres grading 74.5 grams gold per tonne at a shallow depth of 57.5 metres. The section contained a 1-metre interval of 365.75 grams gold. The true width of the section, which was mineralized throughout, is about 6.05 metres. Anaconda can earn a 55% stake in the project from Doublestar Resources.

For its part, Apac Minerals added 3 to close at 43. The company provided encouraging initial results from drilling and channel sampling on the Nibao gold project in southwestern China. The first hole returned 22 metres grading 1.1 grams gold from surface, including two higher-grade intervals. Another returned 12 metres grading 2.71 grams gold from a 32-metre depth.

Value-gainers were led by Silver Standard Resources, which recovered somewhat following the recent dramatic decline in the price of silver. The company gained $1.04, or 8%, to close at $14.74.

Linear Gold tacked on 30 to close at $1.20. The company released encouraging drill results from its Reid gold property in the Botwood Basin of central Newfoundland. Reno-based Meridian Gold has an option to earn a 51% interest in the property.

Bravo Ventures was up some 35% after announcing drill plans for its Woewodski Island drill program in southwestern Alaska. The first drill site is at the Mad Dog prospect, which hosts precious and base metal targets.