TSX Venture soars, Dec. 24-28

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index rose 4.12% to close the trading week at 552.09, and has continued to rise over the start of 2019.

Shares of Novo Resources rose 48¢ to $2.80 after the company announced positive results from mechanical ore-sorting trials on four bulk samples from its Karratha gold project in Australia. The company crushed and screened the samples into concentrates ranging from 0.07% to 0.48% of the total sample mass. It then tested them using a TOMRA mechanical rock sorter. Assays from the concentrates graded 92.1 grams gold in 13 kg, 188.8 grams gold 19.1 kg, 377.8 grams gold in 3.2 kg and 792.4 grams gold in 13.5 kilograms. The company expects to receive all the assay results in January 2019.

The company also announced it had processed its first bulk sample of terrace lag gravels at its Egina gold project in Australia. Novo recovered 107.88 grams of raw gold from 95 cubic metres of gravel. The company plans to collect several similar bulk samples at Egina in 2019 to establish a maiden resource at the project.   

Shares of Westhaven Ventures rose 32¢ to $1.38. In late 2018 the company finished its fall drill program at its 155 sq. km Shovelnose gold property in British Columbia. The company diamond drilled more than 2,100 metres across five holes. It expects to receive assays in early 2019, but confirmed it intersected epithermal vein mineralization in all holes, as well as visible gold in two holes. Several holes also intersected a separate vein zone 150 to 200 metres down from a vein zone found in previous drilling. The company intends to follow up on the new vein zone with more drilling in 2019.

Shovelnose is located in B.C.’s Spences Bridge gold belt, where the company owns four properties totalling 350 square kilometres. Spences Bridge trends northwest over 110 km and features intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks, dominated by the Cretaceous Spences Bridge Group.

Shares of Cobalt 27 Capital fell 33¢ to $3.52. On Jan. 1, 2019, the company announced it would acquire all Highland Pacific’s outstanding shares in a friendly takeover valued at $96 million. The deal values all Highland shares, including those already held by Cobalt 27, at $109 million. At an A10.5¢ all cash offer price, Highland shareholders will receive a 44% premium over the closing Highland Pacific share price on the Australian Securities Exchange on Dec. 24, 2018. The company expects to close the deal in 2019’s second quarter.

Cobalt 27 had previously arranged to buy a cobalt-nickel stream from Highland in May 2018 on its Ramu nickel-cobalt mine in Papua New Guinea.  By acquiring Highlands, Cobalt 27 can increase its attributable Ramu production to more than 800,000 lb. cobalt and 3,800 tonnes nickel per year.