STOCK MARKETS — Western markets end year with a whimper — Canadian juniors show little

signs of life over holiday period

Visions of sugar plums and the trials and tribulations of last-minute shopping appear to have dominated the time and attention of investors over the holiday period.

Western markets were relatively quiet during the shortened trading period ended Dec. 24., despite a modest upturn in the gold price that buoyed the spirits of juniors exploring for the once-precious metal.

Officials of the Vancouver Stock Exchange tried to put a positive spin on the roller-coaster ride of the past year by noting that trading to the end of November had reached near-record highs, approaching the record volume value set in the full calendar year of 1996. Volume reached 6.54 billion shares by the end of November, while value reached $8.53 billion; 8.32 billion shares worth $11.9 billion traded in all of 1996.

VSE officials also pointed out that the volume of shares traded in the month of November (559 million) slipped only 4% from the same month a year earlier. But the value of shares registered a 38% drop during the same period, and a 48% decrease from October 1997.

The overall downtrend also is reflected in the VSE Composite Indicator, which touched a 5-year low of 633.19 on Nov. 27, before recovering slightly to close at 643.54 (down 17% from October’s close) by month’s end. The VSE Mining Indicator fell 22% in November from the previous month.

The Composite Indicator continued its fall, however, closing at 595.45 on Dec. 24, while the Mining Indicator closed at 488.84.

Cross Lake Minerals edged down 2 over our report period to settle at $1.82, well below its 52-week high of $2.41. The junior is exploring a base-metals prospect in Ontario’s Timmins camp and investors are hopeful that results will improve with ongoing drilling. The latest drill results, while encouraging, failed to meet the inflated expectations of some investors.

But, as the old adage goes, massive sulphide deposits are tough to find, and even tougher to define.

Ateba Mines, a junior company in Peter Howe’s stable, has been slipping for several months and appears to have bottomed at a mere 3 in active trading on the Alberta Stock Exchange. Rumors are rife that new management will take the helm of the lacklustre junior.

The share price of East African Gold also has been trending downwards for several months. The junior, which is exploring in the Lake Victoria goldfields of Tanzania, posted a loss of 3 to settle at just below a dime over our report period.

Spider Resources, part of the problem-plagued stable of juniors managed by Pierre Gauthier’s team, was up 3 to settle at 11. The Alberta-listed junior has been exploring for diamonds in Eastern Canada.

The big winner this week was Sutton Resources, a junior that was one of the first to explore for gold and other metals in Tanzania. This pioneering spirit has paid off handsomely at the Bulyanhulu gold deposit, which at last reported hosted gold reserves and resources exceeding 6 million contained ounces within 14.9 million tonnes grading 12.82 grams gold per tonne.

Despite its enviable tonnage and grade, Bulyanhulu will not be without challenges. The mineralization is largely refractory and carbonaceous, while ground conditions are expected to be relatively poor. Even so, the deposit is one of the best found in the country and investors appear to agree. The issue gained 75 to settle at $10.50.