TSX Venture gains ground, Dec. 29-Jan. 2

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index kicked off the new year in the green during the trading period, gaining 4.8%, or 32.5 points, en route to a 706.82-point weekly close.

The index fell 25.4% for the year, compared to a drop of 23.7% over 2013. The heavily weighted energy sector struggled due to falling crude oil prices, while China’s economic growth fuelled concerns about falling demand for commodities.

February contracts for gold bullion jumped US$4.30 before finishing the trading period at US$1,186.20 per oz. Meanwhile, February contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 4.5%, or US$2.50, en route to a US$52.70-per-barrel close. March contracts for copper traded relatively flat before closing the week at US$2.82 per lb.

Junior Samco Gold led the value-added category after announcing a court award against Northern Orion Resources, which is a subsidiary of producer Yamana Gold. Samco gained 120%, or 42¢, on 111,000 shares traded before closing at 77¢ per share.

Samco will receive US$88.4 million from an option agreement with the company’s director Ricardo Auriemma. The agreement entitles Samco to part of any benefits from Northern Orion’s acquisition of a 12.5% interest in the Bajo de la Alumbrera mine in Argentina.

On Jan. 2 the Argentine Commercial Court of Appeals awarded Auriemma US$244 million in damages based on a legal action filed against Northern Orion in 2004.

Explorer Kennady Diamonds also had a strong end to 2014 after announcing diamond recovery results from a mini-bulk sample at its Kennady North project in the Northwest Territories. Shares gained 25¢ during the week before finishing at $4.90.

In December Kennady announced a second-half sample grade of 2.59 carats per tonne, which is 40% higher than from a 25-tonne bulk sample recovered earlier in the year. Based on drilling and sampling to date, the company says the Kelvin-Faraday kimberlite cluster could host up to 12 million tonnes. Drilling the Kelvin kimberlite strike to the northwest will resume this month.

Rogue Resources sat near the top of the volume-traded column during the period after a year-end project review and strategy update. The company saw 4 million shares change hands during weekly trading, and lost 1¢ en route to a 2¢-per-share close.

Rogue said it would focus on its Lac de la Grosse Femelle silica property east of Quebec City in “anticipation of the growth in demand for high-purity quartz.” September geochemical sampling returned 15 surface samples of white quartzites from one of the property’s two quartzite units. Six of the 15 samples returned oxide assays ranging from 99.1% to 99.5% SiO2.