TSX Venture declines, Aug. 10-14

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite struggled late in the week despite a jump in gold futures, as it dropped 3.39 points en route to a 573.21-point close. Energy and base metal futures finished in the red, and the Chinese currency devaluation struck another blow to the Canadian economy. Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales for July rose 0.6%, due largely to a strong auto sector.

December contracts for gold gained nearly 2%, or US$21.50, before finishing at a three-week high of US$1,112.70 per oz. October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 2.8%, or US$1.25, en route to a US$43.11-per-barrel close, while September contracts for copper lost 2%, or US4.8¢, before closing at US$2.35 per lb.

Gold outfit Metanor Resources topped the volume-traded column after releasing updated drill results from its Bachelor mine, 250 km northeast of Val-d’Or, Que. The company saw 10.4 million of its shares change hands before it closed up 1¢ at 5¢ per share.

Metanor said underground drilling at Bachelor shows the extension of a vein near development between level 6 and level 8. Results are highlighted by hole 6-144, which cut 13.1 metres grading 10.2 grams gold per tonne from 113 metres deep. On Aug. 10 the company reported a fatal accident at Bachelor involving an employee working in its maintenance shop.

Zenyatta Ventures had a busy week after a collaboration agreement at its Albany graphite project in northern Ontario, and a recently closed private placement. The company gained 16¢ on 440,636 shares traded before ending at $1.57 per share.

On Aug. 12 Zenyatta announced plans to collaborate with Ballard Power Systems on high-purity graphite required in components of fuel cell technology. Early testing indicates Albany’s graphite is suitable for the bipolar plate and gas diffusion layer for fuel cells, and Ballard intends to build components for further testing.

Meanwhile, Zenyatta announced a $2.1-million non-brokered private placement, wherein it will issue 1.69 million units priced at $1.25 per unit. Each unit consists of one share and one half-share purchase warrant priced a $1.65 for 12 months.

Roxgold was on the rise after exploration results from its Yaramoko gold project, 200 km southwest of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The company jumped 15¢ on 561,430 shares traded before finishing at $1.57 per share.

On Aug. 11 Roxgold reported drill results from the QV1 target at its Bagassi South concessions, which it says “confirm the geological model for QV1 and underline regional potential.”