Junior exchange grinds to a halt

Vancouver — Canada’s junior exchange lost ground over the week ended Feb. 3 as investors moved into tech stocks, with gold idling at US$400 per oz. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index closed at 1788.72, down 11.53 points, or 0.64%.

Spider Resources closed at 18, up 2, on a volume of 5.2 million shares, while KWG Resources finished flat at 31, with 1.1 million shares changing hands. The companies are partners in the McFauld’s Lake project in the James Bay Lowlands of northeastern Ontario. Winter drilling at the McFaulds No. 3 occurrence has intersected a 36-metre section of massive sulphide mineralization. Diagem International Resource stands to earn an 8% stake in the project by investing $2 million in the project. However, the interest can be converted at the request of either of the parties into an equity interest in Spider and KWG. Diagem closed at 30, down 2, with 745,500 shares traded.

ECU Silver Mining closed the week at 30, up 2, on a volume of 4.4 million shares. The company has entered into a private-placement financing worth $999,000 and consisting of 4.9 million units priced at 20 apiece. A unit comprises one share and one share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to acquire one share for 26 over two years. The money will be used to pay for exploration drilling at the Santa Juana mine, as well as for production costs in Mexico.

OntZinc closed at 18, up 2, with 4.1 million shares crossing the floor. The company will spend $1.1 million drill-testing the Scotia mine in Nova Scotia, the objective being to confirm the consistency of the zinc-lead reserves. Predevelopment work will include mining and business studies, as well as environmental work. The Scotia mine is wholly owned by OntZinc through a subsidiary.

International Wayside Gold Mines closed at 27, down 4, with 3.4 million shares traded. Underground development at the Bonanza Ledge project, near Wells, B.C., is essentially complete, so that recovery of a 10,000-tonne bulk sample can proceed. At the end of January, the company had recovered 1,100 tonnes of development ore. In the spring, an additional 70,000-tonne bulk sample is planned. Permitting for this next phase is in progress. So far, the junior has completed 1,050 ft. of underground development, including three crosscuts totalling 104 ft. in the higher-grade southern contact of the zone.

Amerigo Resources lost 5 and closed at $1.85 with 2.7 million shares traded. In January, the company reported third-quarter earnings, after tax, of US$1.01 million. The junior acquired the Chilean MVC copper project last year, and during the fourth quarter, produced and sold 7.1 million lbs. copper for a cash cost, after royalties and depreciation, of 63.9 per lb.

Osisko Exploration and partner Golden Hope Mines have released phase-one drill results from the Timmins zone of the Bellechasse gold project. The Rico vein was again intersected in hole BD-19 and returned 25.2 grams gold over 0.9 metre. The Rico vein dips steeply to the northwest and is open at depth, to the northeast, and to the southwest. The partners plan to initiate a 2,000-metre second phase of drilling, which will focus on extending the Rico structure, as well as the Timmins Extension zone, along strike and at depth. Osisko closed at 46, up 2, on a volume of 2.6 million shares. Golden Hope closed at 17, down a nickel.