TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE JULY 2-7

The S&P-TSX Venture Composite Index lost ground over the July 2-7 trading session, a week cut short by Canada Day, closing down 157.41 points at 2,478.37. Daily trading volumes were low, averaging only 58.5 million, a sure sign that the summer doldrums have properly set in.

A lack of trading volume didn’t prevent 205 junior companies from falling to new share price lows. Only 10 managed to hit new highs.

A company venturing into both of Saskatchewan’s hot markets — coal and potash — grabbed top trader status. Cloudbreak Resources moved 23.3 million shares over the session to close down a penny at 17. The junior did not release any news during the session but has in recent months applied for coal permits and potash claims in the Prairie province.

A decision to temporarily halt production at the Lamaque underground gold mine in Val d’Or, Que., sent Century Mining shares down 4 to 5 apiece on 14.8 million shares traded. While that may now seem a huge loss, the company was trading at $1 one year ago and $1.70 two years ago. It has since been mired in lawsuits, financial woes, and battles with the British Columbia Securities Commission over inadequate and missing filings.

Interest in Largo Resources — which ramped up in June when the company began a drill program at its Maracas platinum group metals project in Brazil — continued through the session despite a lack of news. Largo rose to $1.50 in mid-June from 50 before settling at around $1.10. Trading volumes for the junior remain strong; over the quiet first session in July, the company moved 11.7 million shares.

A 33-metre intercept grading better than 10% copper revived interest in VMS Ventures, which traded 6 million shares over the session to close up 5 at 70. The junior hit volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralization at its Reed Lake property in mid-September, sparking a share price spike that has since settled, and is now working to delineate the zone of copper-zinc-silver-gold mineralization.

Brett Resources posted a 22 gain over the session. In early June, the junior bought joint-venture partner Kinross Gold’s 40% interest in the Hammond Reef gold project, near Atikokan, Ont. Kinross now holds some 30% of Brett and can elect to earn a 50% interest in new properties that Brett finds in B. C. and the Yukon.

News of visible gold in drill core from the Kambele project in Cameroon boosted African Aura Resources 13 over the session to close at 39. An initial 50-hole drill program is testing the 3.5-km-long Kambele trend defined by gold-in-soil anomalies. To date, three holes have turned up visible gold; assay results are pending.

Goldsource Mines, the Saskatchewan diamond-seeker that hit coal in April, finally lost ground after gaining a stupendous 9,000%. In July’s first week of trading, the junior lost $3.05 to close at $14.95.

TSX-V most active issues
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Cloudbreak Res	CDB	23280	0.20	0.14	0.17	-0.01
North Am Gem	NAG	14855	0.49	0.35	0.40	0.00
Century Mining	CMM	14833	0.09	0.05	0.05	-0.04
Largo Res	LGO	11745	1.27	1.02	1.06	-0.09
Sidon Intl Res	SD	7650	0.17	0.11	0.16	+ 0.02
Gold Hawk Res	CGK	7583	0.14	0.08	0.09	-0.05
VMS Vent	VMS	6005	0.85	0.61	0.70	+ 0.05
Solitaire Mnls	SLT	4215	0.27	0.19	0.24	+ 0.02
NobleMetalGr	NMG	3993	0.83	0.22	0.49	+ 0.26
Arianne Res	DAR	3908	0.09	0.07	0.07	0.00

TSX-V greatest percentage change
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Noble Metal Gr	NMG	3993	0.83	0.22	0.49	+113.0
Young-Shan Gld	GYS	48	0.12	0.08	0.08	+100.0
Goldmember Mnl	GMV	47	0.16	0.11	0.11	+ 83.3
Windarra Minls	WRA	84	0.17	0.14	0.17	+ 54.5
African Aura	AAZ	233	0.39	0.16	0.39	+ 50.0
Crescent Res	CRC	449	0.25	0.18	0.24	+ 41.1
Uranium Power	UPC	725	0.55	0.40	0.54	+ 31.7
Brett Res	BBR	233	0.95	0.70	0.92	+ 31.4
Majestic Gold	MJS	718	0.09	0.06	0.09	+ 28.5
Silver Grail R	SVG	15	0.25	0.22	0.24	+ 26.3
Terra Nova Gld	TGC	30	0.06	0.04	0.06	-45.4
Century Mining	CMM	14833	0.09	0.05	0.05	-44.4
Gold Bulln Dev	GBB	27	0.09	0.06	0.08	-38.4
Soho Res	SOH	1452	0.09	0.08	0.08	-38.4
Kaminak Gold	KAM	228	0.57	0.38	0.38	-37.7
Plato Gold	PGC	75	0.09	0.05	0.05	-37.5
Belmont Res	BEA	47	0.12	0.09	0.09	-35.7
Gold Hawk Res	CGK	7583	0.14	0.08	0.09	-35.7
Rye Patch Gold	RPM	194	0.23	0.17	0.17	-34.6
Newcastle Mnls	NCM	20	0.06	0.06	0.06	-33.3

TSX-V greatest value change
WEEK
		VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
NobleMetalGr	NMG	3992944	0.49	+0.26
Brett Res	BBR	233432	0.92	+ 0.22
Oromin Expl	OLE	479357	2.64	+ 0.20
Rimfire Mnls	RFM	55300	1.14	+ 0.20
Apoquindo Mnls	AQM	151800	1.36	+ 0.16
Tatmar Vent	TAT	48000	0.75	+ 0.15
Uruguay Mnl Ex	UME	26380	2.55	+ 0.15
Ascot Res	AOT	120000	0.80	+ 0.15
African Aura	AAZ	233000	0.39	+ 0.13
Uranium Power	UPC	725172	0.54	+ 0.13
Goldsource Min	GXS	618992	14.95	-3.05
SouthGobi Engy	SGQ	57170	19.00	-1.57
Pan Oce Exp	POE	443489	9.15	-1.05
Seabridge Gold	SEA	48919	21.47	-1.03
Waratah Coal	WCI	546125	3.21	-0.81
Mansfld Mnrls	MDR	297390	1.74	-0.78
Potash North	PON	3496622	1.97	-0.71
Canplats Res	CPQ	770861	3.73	-0.65
Energold Drill	EGD	220948	4.20	-0.60
Silverstone Rs	SST	749266	2.10	-0.55