Venture slides, June 23-27

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index ended the week down 3.4 points at 1,022.97. But the close kept the index within the higher range it has enjoyed since February, when it reattained the 1,000-point mark after trading below this level for almost a year.

Daily trading volumes were subdued, averaging 59 million.

Odin Mining and Exploration made the biggest waves on the Venture during the week with a multi-million dollar investment by mining legend Ross Beaty. Odin is raising $5 million by selling 95.4 million shares at 6¢ apiece, and serially successful mining magnate Beaty is buying “a significant portion” — including up to all — of the shares. Beaty will rejig the board and add to the management team at Odin, which will get drills turning at its Cangrejos gold–copper porphyry project in Ecuador’s El Oro province. Odin’s share price shot up 280%, ending the week at 38¢.

Athabasca Minerals continued its share price surge, adding another 21¢ over the week to close at $2.90. Just six week ago the aggregate and industrial minerals miner was worth just $1.65 a share. Athabasca works in Alberta and its business plan includes wholly owned aggregate operations, as well as managing similar operations for other owners. 

Rathdowney Resources had a good week, gaining 11¢ to reach 35¢, even though the Poland-focused explorer did not release any news. Rathdowney is advancing Olza, a project near Krakow that hosts 21.2 million inferred tonnes grading 7.42% combined zinc and lead.

Also gaining 11¢ was Northern Graphite, which ended the week at 76¢ after announcing a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) doubling the size of the planned process plant at its Bissett Creek graphite project. Bissett Creek is a feasibility stage project, but Northern Graphite believes recent developments in the lithium-ion battery industry — combined with interest in the company’s proprietary technology for producing extra-large-flake, high purity concentrates —justifies a larger operation. The PEA returned strong economics, predicting a 26.7% after-tax internal rate of return for an operation producing 44,200 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually.

Bear Creek Mining saw almost 900,000 shares traded over the week, though the company closed down 15¢ at $2.87. The company did not release any news: only an announcement that it did not know why its trading volumes were so high. It stayed near the upper end of its 52-week trading range.