TSX Venture edges higher, July 22-26: Great Bear, Rio2, Jervois Mining

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index climbed 0.16% to 592.89 during the trading week.

Drill results and exploration success at its Dixie project in the Red Lake district of Ontario sent Great Bear Resources up 17¢ to $5.60 per share. On July 24 the junior announced a 5-metre assay of 14.32 grams gold per tonne within a 12-metre intercept of 5.87 grams gold per tonne. The hole was drilled near a predicted intersection of the Hinge zone vein swarm in the project’s Dixie Limb. Great Bear’s 90,000-metre drill program, which is expected to continue through 2019 and 2020, is fully funded. Targets will include the Hinge zone, Dixie Limb zone, Bear–Rimini zone, Yuma zone LP Fault and the North Fault, along with other targets across the property. A third drill rig arrived in June. Great Bear announced the discovery of the Yuma zone on July 16. The high-grade zone, like the Bear–Rimini zone, is hosted by the LP fault, which is an 18 km long, gold-bearing, deep-seated crustal structure.

Shares of Rio2 rose 4¢ to 47¢. The company increased its bought-deal private placement — 55 million units at a price of 40¢ per unit — for gross proceeds of $22 million. Each unit will consist of one common share of the company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant, exercisable at 50¢ for 36 months after the deal closes. Rio2 also noted that Eric Sprott had increased his subscription amount to $9.8 million from $9.2 million, and once completed, will own 19.9% of the company. The proceeds will help advance the company’s wholly owned Fenix gold project in Chile. Work includes completing an environmental impact baseline study, filing it with Chilean authorities, completing engineering studies, starting permitting, reviewing finance options and continuing social activities related to the project. The company announced in July that its updated feasibility study was delayed, but that it is expected in August.

A merger with eCobalt Solutions sent shares of Australia-based Jervois Mining up 2¢ to 17¢. Most eCobalt shareholders approved the merger on July 19, and the transaction also received approval from the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Under the transaction, shareholders of eCobalt received 1.65 ordinary shares of Jervois for each eCobalt share held. eECobalt owns the Idaho cobalt project, 40 km west of the town of Salmon, with an eye on first production in early 2020. In September 2017, eCobalt tabled a feasibility study modelling an underground mine that would annually produce 2.4 million lb. cobalt, 3.3 million lb. copper and 3,000 oz. gold over a 12.5-year life. First Cobalt Corp., one of eCobalt’s largest shareholders, vehemently opposed the merger. Jervois also owns the Nico Young cobalt-nickel deposit in Australia, and projects in Tanzania and Uganda.