TSXV edges higher over May 16-20

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index eked out a gain of 5.44 points over the May 16-20 trading week to end at 702.09.

Los Andes Copper saw the biggest share price gain over the session, rising $1.30 or 9.2% to end at $15.45. On May 16, the junior reported new assays from its Vizcachitas copper project in Chile, including 152 metres of 1% copper equivalent (0.94% copper, 122 parts per million molybdenum and 2.6 grams silver per tonne) in hole CMV-009, located near the southern edge of the project’s defined resource. The intercept, which started at 108 metres depth, was part of a 387.2-metre interval grading 0.56% copper equivalent (0.53% copper, 62 ppm moly and 1.5 gram silver).

Los Andes was ordered to stop exploration drilling in March, so an environmental court can determine if the program is impacting habitat of the vizcachas — a small rodent that is a food source for the threatened Andean cat. The company is preparing detailed reports for the court and says it is confident that drilling can continue without significant effects to the environment.

Assay results for another 3,300 metres of drill core are pending. The company has completed 6,600 metres of the 18,000-metre drill campaign it started last year.

Vizcachitas was the subject of a positive preliminary economic assessment in 2019. It hosts measured and indicated resources of 1.3 billion tonnes grading 0.396% copper, 141.4 ppm molybdenum, and 1.05 ppm silver, as well as additional inferred resources.

One of the most actively traded companies for the week was Royal Fox Gold, which saw 23.4 million shares change hands, and finished 2¢ higher at 6¢. On May 18, the company reported assays from 12 holes drilled at the Red Fox zone at its Philbert gold project, 60 km southwest of Chibougamau, Que.

Highlights included hole PB-22-336, which returned 35.6 metres of 1.69 grams gold starting at 26.5 metres depth, and 120 metres down dip, hole PB-22-364, which cut 13.3 metres of 1.1 grams gold from 102.5 metres. Results from another 93 holes in the 16,000-metre program are pending.

North Peak Resources shed 26¢ or 18.4% to end at $1.15 after it reported operational challenges that have hindered exploration at its Black Horse gold project, near Ely, Nev. The company signed an option deal on Black Horse in December and acquired permits for a core and reverse-circulation (RC) drilling program in January. 

“Operational challenges have impacted both drilling programs as lower than acceptable core recovery will likely mean certain target holes will require re-drilling and mechanical issues with the drills themselves caused setbacks to the progress of the RC drilling,” said CEO Brian Hinchcliffe, in a release. The company will publish results once it has a “critical mass of material assay results” from the programs, and from underground sampling of former mine workings.