CDNX continues upswing (February 12, 2001)

Vancouver — Canada’s junior exchange continued its bull run, posting modest gains on all indicies during the report period ended Feb. 6. The Canadian Venture Exchange composite index added 49.66 points, or 1.53%, to its value and closed at 3287.20. The mining index tacked on 93.92 points, or 1.6%, to close at 6,115.54.

Investors snapped up shares in Spider Resources following news that joint-venture partner Dia Bras Exploration recovered 20 diamonds weighing 29 carats at the Alto Paranaiba project in Brazil. The stones had a total appraised value of US$7,111, or US$243 per carat. Shares in Spider ended the week at 9, up 3 on a heavy volume of 3.1 million shares.

Poplar Resources ended the week at 19, up 2 with just over 2 million shares traded. The company’s subsidiary, North Star Diamonds, has begun a re-evaluation of its Bottenbacken palladium project in central Sweden. Previous drilling by the Swedish Geological Survey identified palladium grades that range from 0.08 to 4.18 grams palladium per tonne over thicknesses of 14.3 to 0.9 metres.

Kensington Resources traded 1.5 million shares and found a penny to close at 58. The market is anticipating macrodiamond counts from last year’s drill program over the Fort la Corne diamond property in Saskatchewan. Joint-venture partner DeBeers Canada Exploration is expected to table the results in mid-February.

Shares in Cantex Mine Development continue to lose ground after news that Falconbridge International terminated its joint-venture work on the Suwar massive-sulphide project in Yemen. The Charles Fipke-led junior says another major is evaluating the data. Cantex closed down 1 at 17 on 1.4 million shares.

Getting a boost on news that it is in talks to joint-venture its platinum-palladium properties in Nevada, Conquistador Mines tacked on 4 and closed at 17 on a volume of 1.2 million shares.

North American Tungsten caught investor attention, finishing at 51, up a dime, with 1.1 million shares changing hands. A resurgent market price for tungsten has the junior considering the reopening of the CanTung mine in northern Canada. North American Tungsten owns the highest-grade ore reserves in the Western World.

Montello Resources closed flat at 10, with 912,000 shares trading hands. The company’s joint-venture partner, Kennecott Canada, is gearing up for a mid-February drill program on the Poplar diamond project in Manitoba (60% Kennecott and 40% Montello).

Navigator Explorations closed up 6 to 67 on a volume of 833,000 shares, and partner Canabrava Diamond tacked on 17 to close at 90. The companies have increased their 2001 budget for the Severn joint venture in northern Ontario by $1.5 million to $2.5 million. Navigator has already spent about $1 million on the Kat project, and drilling is expected to commence shortly. Ten targets will be tested, five of which are in the immediate vicinity of De Beers’ diamond-bearing Victor pipe. Navigator is earning a half-interest in the property from Canabrava.

Gold Summit Mines popped back on to investors’ radar screens, actively trading over the report period, though it closed flat at 20 on a volume of 879,000 shares.