Weak Metal Prices spell gloom for juniors

The TSX Venture Exchange took another hit over the June 9-15 trading period, losing almost 50 points to close at 1523. The price of gold continued to struggle and ended the period at roughly US$389 per oz., down slightly from US$391 on June 8.

Near the end of the trading period, the price of the yellow metal edged up after the largest increase in the consumer price index in three years eased investors’ concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates. A softer outlook for base metals over the week didn’t help the price of silver. The white metal closed down 4 from June 8 to close at US$5.71.

Over the week, 56 TSX-Venture listed companies reached new 52-week lows, whereas only 11 climbed to new highs. Topping the most-active list were EuroZinc Mining, Spider Resources, American Bonanza and Anooraq Resources.

EuroZinc Mining headed the list of volume leaders again this week with more than 4.1 million shares changing hands but its shares were flat over the period and finished at 56. The company is finalizing its acquisition of Neves Corvo. Spider Resources traded heavily with 2.9 million shares changing hands, and tacked on a penny to close at 14.5. The company and its JV partner KWG Resources recovered 18 microdiamonds and one macrodiamond from 150 kg of kimberlite in the last two drill holes completed on the MacFadyen property, situated in the James Bay Lowlands of northern Ontario. This brings to five, the total number of diamondiferous kimberlites on the property.

American Bonanza traded heavily again this week with 2.5 million shares changing hands but closed down a penny to finish at 17. Last week, the company reported 3.3 metres grading 48 grams gold per tonne on its Copperstone property in Arizona.

Trading 1.4 million shares over the period was Anooraq Resources which fell by 55 to close at $2.55. Anooraq got approval last week from the South African Reserve Bank for its reverse takeover of Pelawan, a black empowerment group.

Making it onto the list of percentage gainers was Vancouver-based United Carina, which topped the percentage gainer list to close at 15 on fairly heavy volume. In combination with Consolidated Pine Channel Gold, United Carina provided diamond results from the Smeaton area property in Saskatchewan. Two microdiamonds were found in sample 5 taken from hole 1. No diamonds were recovered from other samples.

StrataGold, which recently secured the option to carry out exploration and mining activities in the 1,425-hectare Tassawini gold property in Guyana, tacked on 33% to close at 28. Previous drill results from the property include 25 metres of 10.55 grams gold per tonne and 17 metres of 8.21 grams gold.

Value leaders over the trading period were topped by Adulis Resources, which rose 40 to close at $2.35, and Linear Gold, which climbed 26 to $1.41. Adulis announced it would acquire oil and gas properties in Colombia, while Linear Gold intersected a zone of high-grade gold mineralization at its wholly-owned Ixhuatan project in Chiapas, Mexico. The new high-grade mineralization was from the first hole drilled in the Campamento target zone on the southern portion of the property.