CDNX follows major bourses down

Vancouver — Canada’s junior exchange slid into bear country over the week ended Feb. 19. The Standard & Poor’s-CDNX composite index dropped 35.92 points, or 3.1%, to close at 1116.95.

With drill results expected from the Salamandra property in Mexico, shares in National Gold continued to move higher. The junior’s joint-venture partner, Alamos Minerals, is drilling the property. The partners have set their sights on developing the higher-grade core of the deposit, dubbed Estrella. National Gold ended the week up 10 to 45 on a volume of 2.6 million shares, while Alamos remained flat at 43 on 151,000 shares.

TNR Resources tacked on 2 and closed at 21 on the exchange of 1.8 million shares. The stock jumped following news of a deal with Toronto-listed NovaGold Resources to earn a half-stake in the Rock Creek and Shotgun deposits in Alaska.

Starfield Resources lost ground, shedding 25 to close at 77 on a volume of 1.5 million shares. The company has retained Warrior, a division of Standard Bank of London, to provide advice on financing the Ferguson Lake nickel-copper-platinum-palladium project in Nunavut.

Spider Resources ended the week steady at 7, with 1.3 million shares crossing the floor. The company holds a 49% stake in the Spider 1 diamond project in the James Bay lowlands of northern Ontario.

Making a nice percentage move, Holmer Gold Mines gained 6 and closed at 24 as 1.3 million shares were swapped. The junior is advancing its 50%-owned Loma Hierro silver mine project in Cuba.

Northern Empire Minerals added 4 to its value and closed at 67, with 1.2 million shares changing hands. The company has closed a non-brokered private placement of 153,846 units priced at 0.65 each for a gross proceeds of $100,000. Each unit consists of one share and half a purchase warrant. A warrant can be exercised for 85 for two years. The money will be used for working capital and to help fund the company’s projects in the Coronation Gulf diamond district of Nunavut.

Dynacor Mines lost a penny and closed at 28 on 1.2 million shares. The junior received encouraging sample results from its newly acquired Tumipampa gold-copper project in Peru. So far, field work has identified several hydrothermal gold-bearing veins intersecting several sedimentary formations in contact with a porphyritic granodioritic intrusive rock. The company can earn a 60% stake in the property by spending US$1.3 million over five years.

Samex Mining lost 3 and closed at 16 with 1.1 million shares crossing the floor. Samex is seeking financing for the Eskapa polymetallic project in Chile.

Andean American Mining jumped 19 and closed at 75 on just over 1 million shares. The junior is trying to iron out production problems related to the occurrence of clays at its small-scale Santa Rosa gold operation in southern Peru.

Dianor Resources dropped 4 to end the week at 24 with just over 1 million shares traded. The junior announced it has entered into a partnership agreement with Wemindji Exploration, a company owned by the Cree Nation community of Wemindji regarding its diamond property interest in the James Bay area of Quebec.