STOCK MARKETS — Westen market gets early Christmas gift

Over the holiday-shortened report period ended Dec. 19, the Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index posted a 8.59-point gain, to 1,134.65, while the resource index rallied 35.22 points to close at 2,240.3

Hixon Gold Resources rose 60 cents to close at $5.45. Preliminary soil sampling results from its Stenpad concession in Ghana are said to outline a large area of highly anomalous gold. While work at the project is still at an early stage, management says “the results support the premise that the property could potentially host a multi-million-ounce gold deposit which could be exploited by low-cost, open-pit, heap-leach mining methods.” To date, Hixon and 50% back-in partner Toronto-listed Golden Rule Resources have released high-grade results from four hand-dug trenches.

Sonoma Resources closed up 11 cents at $1.70. Recent exploration work at the company’s Cerro Toro property in Argentina leads the company to believe that a copper-gold porphyry system may exist at depth. A trenching program has been testing a leached cap of vein-hosted, silver-zinc-copper-gold mineralization covering much of the project area. Eleven composite samples taken over 50 metres averaged 179 grams silver and 0.44 gram gold per tonne, plus 1.6% zinc and 0.28% copper, and 20 samples representing a composite of 75 metres averaged 40 grams silver, 2.1% zinc, 0.18% copper and 0.1 gram gold. Further sampling results are pending, and a diamond drilling program is about to begin.

Valerie Gold Resources closed up 35 cents at $6.30 on the release of a status report from its 85%-owned Mamatla massive sulphide project in Mexico. To date, 11,500 metres in 96 holes have been completed. The Capire zone is now defined over an area measuring 400 by 150 metres. Recent drilling has been stepping out on the Capire and Aurora 1 zones, while a second rig is testing a number of new targets. Toronto-listed TVX Gold is managing the program and holds the right of first refusal.

An initial six holes totalling 1,000 metres are being drilled by Adikann Goldfields on the Treposo gold prospect at the Westbank concession in Ghana, West Africa. The Treposo zone is a siliceous ridge structure marked by a series of gold soil anomalies, a coincident induced-polarization anomaly and dozens of native pits. Adikann was up 7 cents at 60 cents.

Pacific Rim Mining jumped 42 cents to finish at $2.20. Initial results are expected shortly from a recently completed trenching program on the 1,700-ha Cerro Blanco property, which adjoins the joint-venture Diablillos gold-silver project in northwestern Argentina. Pacific Rim also awaits results from a geophysical survey on the Colorada volcanogenic massive sulphide project.

At the Riyadh concession in Ghana, International Tournigan has extended the strike length of the 5050 zone to 425 metres. Hole 48 intersected 1.72 metres of 22.46 grams gold. In nearby Mali, field work has identified a second zone of quartz veining and stockwork with associated arsenopyrite-gold mineralization at the company’s Diangounte property. A reverse-circulation drill program is planned for the first quarter of 1997. International Tournigan remained unchanged at $2.80.

The final 12 drill holes from the Encanto prospect in northern Ecuador encountered no significant gold values above 2 grams. Peruvian Gold, which holds an option to a 60% interest, closed up 13 cents at $1.72. The company continues to test Encanto with adit development work and is carrying out a regional prospecting program.

Crystallex International intends to acquire a 65% interest from Delpet Resources in the prospective 9,600-ha Mineiro gold concession in northern Brazil. Previous work outlined a potential resource of 2.9 million tonnes grading 3.57 grams amenable to open-pit methods. Crystallex sees further potential in extending mineralization to depth. Under terms of the agreement, Crystallex must spend US$500,000 in exploration, issue 100,000 shares and pay US$250,000. Crystallex was down 7 cents at $2.03, while Delpet was up 8 cents at 85 cents.