MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS – WESTERN MARKETS — Foreign plays attract attention in otherwise dull western market

The Vancouver Stock Exhange composite index shed 7.95 points, or 1.5%, to close at 520.04 over the report period ended July 14. The mining index followed suit, dropping 8.35 points, or 2.2%, to finish at 376.46.

The combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange lost 13.82 points, or 0.66%, to finish the day at 2,095.24.

Anzex Resources shot up 65 cents to close at $1.90. The company released a status report on its Longwoods platinum project in New Zealand. The first of three drill holes ended in sulphides at a depth of 620 metres, owing to technical difficulties. The rocks intersected by the drill hole confirm the existence of the intrusive sequence. The second hole, collared about 2.5 km northwest of hole 1, has reached a depth of 489 metres. The third will be collared about 2 km west of hole 2. Assay results are pending.

International Northair Mines gained 12 cents to close at 50 cents on the release of initial sampling results from its Venturina property in Chihuahua state, Mexico. A zone of mineralization has been traced over a 1-km strike length. A total of 226 chip and channel samples taken from the zone averaged 1.76 grams gold and 38 grams silver per tonne.

St. Jude Resources dropped 20 cents to close at $1.30. Results were released from six additional drill holes from the Father Brown zone on the Hwini-Butre concession in Ghana, West Africa. The holes were collared 25 metres north and south of the first drill site. Each drill pad put down a 3-hole fan. One intersection hit 2 metres grading 51 grams gold. Most of the other holes produced narrow intervals (2 to 11 metres), which averaged from 4.25 grams to 7.63 grams gold. All holes were reported to intersect a highly silicified shear zone with intense alteration, abundant pyrite and often visible gold. St. Jude is drilling a 50-metre stepout from the original discovery hole.

Winspear Resources lost 24 cents to close at $1.25. The company commenced its $2.5-million summer exploration program, of which $1.5 million has been allocated to the Snap Lake area in the Northwest Territories. Winspear has contracted MRDI to produce a scoping study of the NW dyke at Snap Lake. The company is increasing its interest this year to 68%. Toronto-listed Aber Resources holds the balance

Donner Minerals and the South Voisey’s Bay joint-venture partners traded heavily over the past week. A drilling update is expected shortly. Donner’s issue rose 19 cents to close at $1.09; Alberta-listed Northern Abitibi Mining finished 16 cents higher at 48 cents; and Cypress Minerals hopped on for the ride gaining 12 cents to close at 31 cents.

Rupert Resources gained 19 cents to close at $1.29. Diamond counts from its Crown-7 drill hole tallied to 543 diamonds, of which 143 exceeded 0.5 mm in one dimension. All totalled, the stones weighed in at 0.829 carat. Crown-7 was drilled from east to west at a 55 dip and reached a final depth of 652.9 metres. Rupert is currently drilling Crown-9.