CDNX sinks as warships set sail

Vancouver — With U.S. forces assembling in the Persian Gulf, the prospect of a prolonged “battle against terrorism” took its toll on Canada’s junior exchange during the week ended Sept. 25. The Canadian Venture Exchange composite index dropped 68.24 points, or 2.41%, to finish the period at 2,769.03. The mining index fared slightly better, losing 66.58 points, or 0.94%, to close at 7,048.39.

Poplar Resources topped the most-actively-traded chart among junior explorers, ending the week down 5 to 24 on a volume of 2.3 million shares. The junior’s 65%-owned subsidiary completed the second of a planned 20-hole drill program at the Bottenbacken polymetallic project in central Sweden. Targeting the Bell zone, the first two holes cut a medium-grained metavolcanic rock with traces of chalcopyrite, bornite and pyrite disseminated throughout. Drilling is currently focused on the Storuggen geophysical anomaly.

Leader Mining gave back some of its recent gains, losing 22 to close at $1.14, on a volume of 347,000 shares. The company inked deals to earn a 51% stake in both the Roman and Andy claims, which lie adjacent to its Cogburn nickel property, near Hope, B.C. Leader is also awaiting geochemical results from the Bright Lake tantalum property, northeast of Lake Athabaska in Saskatchewan.

News that drilling is under way on the Cueva Blanca gold property in Peru, combined with the release of drill results from the Magistral copper joint venture, failed to lift shares of Inca Pacific Resources. The company’s partner at Magistral, Anaconda Peru, tabled encouraging results from the western portion of the intrusive complex, though it failed to hit any significant values on the eastern side. A new geological resource is expected later in the year. Meanwhile, in the northern part of Peru, fellow junior St. Elias Mines is funding a 5,000-metre drill program as part of a 1998 deal to earn a 49% interest in the Cueva Blanca property. Inca Pacific lost 7 over the week to close at 18 on the exchange of 1.7 million shares, while St. Elias ended the period at 25, down 5 on 174,300 shares.

Benefiting from a rise in precious metal prices, Silver Standard Resources managed to tack on 23 to close at $3.05, with 282,300 shares changing hands. The junior holds a 10% direct interest, as well as an option to earn an additional 40%, in the Manantial Espejo silver property in southern Argentina. It also owns a 40% stake in the Sulphurets gold-silver project in British Columbia.

Muskox Minerals lost 12 to close at 70 on the trading of 175,000 shares. The company inked a memorandum of understanding with Lonmin granting the London-based company an option to acquire an initial half-interest in the Muskox platinum-palladium property in Nunavut by spending $18.8 million over four years.

Hunter Dickinson-led Great Basin Gold gained 10 to close at 60 on a volume of 291,000 shares. The junior has completed drilling at the Hollister gold deposit, part of the Ivanhoe project in Nevada.

Redstar Resources ended the week flat at 3 on a volume of 667,000 shares. The junior inked a deal to earn half of the Tartan Lake platinum-palladium property by paying $75,000 over three years and spending $750,000 over four years. Lying east of Nipigon Lake in northwestern Ontario, the property is considered prospective for Lac des Isle-type disseminated sulphides containing palladium and base-metal mineralization.

Results from channel samples collected along strike of the historic Alexo mine, near Timmins, helped Hucamp Mines tack on 5, to finish at 95 on a modest 127,000 shares. Mechanical stripping east and west of the old mine workings exposed massive, net-textured and disseminated nickel, copper and platinum-palladium sulphides along 100 metres of strike length. Samples returned up to 6.4% copper, 5.3% nickel and 3.3 grams combined platinum-palladium per tonne. Hucamp plans to drill-test the extent of the zones later this year.