Junior market hot on uranium

Junior miners had an upbeat week on the markets, with improvements in daily volumes over the Sept. 15-21 period. The average daily volume over the week was about 31 million shares, coupled with an S&P-TSX Venture Composite Index gain of 12.5 over the period to close at 1530.12. Pent-up exploration results are starting to trickle out from junior companies, drawing speculative investors back into the market.

Again, gold had a steady week with a late rally pushing the yellow metal to a close of US$408.30 per oz. on the New York Spot Market, up US$3.20 from the previous session. December gold futures rose to US$410.10 per oz. on the New York Futures Market, a 3-week high.

The bullion price showed strength against the U.S. dollar despite the quarter-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve to 1.75%, the third increase this year.

Silver followed gold’s gains, closing the trading period near a 2-week high at US$6.34 per oz., up 16 from the previous week’s close. Platinum prices dipped slightly over the week but recovered to close back at the US$850-per-oz. level. Palladium mirrored platinum’s dip, then improved to finish at US$209 per oz.

Declining inventories and resurgence in Chinese copper demand pushed the red metal up a nickel over the trading period, closing at more than US$1.33 per lb. Nickel completed the across-the-board rally in metals prices by gaining 41, or 7%, to close at US$6.12 per lb.

The ratio of gainers to decliners on the junior mining board showed some improvement over the week. Thirty-two Venture Exchange-listed juniors saw new yearly highs for the trading period, compared with 104 companies setting new 52-week lows.

Far and away, the Venture Market volume leader for the week was Frank Callaghan’s Northern Continental Resources, which traded almost 25.4 million shares and also topped the percentage and value gainers — up almost 150%, or 48.5 a share, to close at 81. The company announced that work had begun on its eastern Athabasca Basin-area Russell uranium project. The property is also the subject of a legal dispute with private company Roughrider Uranium, which claims it has the right to acquire a 75% interest.

The second most active issue was fellow northern Saskatchewan uranium explorer JNR Resources, which traded more than 15.4 million shares on the week and gained almost 22%, or 21 a share, closing at $1.18. JNR and partner International Uranium released high-grade uranium values from the Moore Lake project, following the drilling of 10 metres grading 4% U3O8, including 1.4 metres of 20% U3O8.

Third on the volume hit parade was Laramide Resources. The junior traded more than 10.3 million shares and saw its share price double to 92, giving it the second-largest percentage increase over the week. The TSX Venture Exchange halted the issue, requesting an explanation for the trading volume. The company said that since it had received approval for its Westmoreland copper-gold-uranium project acquisition, in Queensland, Australia, trading activity has increased.