MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — VSE composite, mining indices stand fast

Despite finishing the Sept. 29 report period on a downturn, western markets managed to hold on to some of the gains made earlier in the week. The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index closed up 2.82 points, or 0.7%, at 399.99, while the mining index tacked on 7.38 points to finish at 282.78, up 2.7%. The combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange rose 25.78 points, or 1.5%, finishing the period at 1,753.22.

Alberta-listed Montello Resources was heavily traded after the announcement that core drilling by partner Kennecott Canada on the Legend property, in northeastern Alberta, intersected what appeared to be kimberlite. Montello reached a high of 51 cents before falling back to 46 cents, for a gain of 17 cents. Partner Redwood Resources added 12 cents to close at 60 cents.

Balaclava Mines was up 5 cents at $1.17. The company is drilling a gold prospect at its El Corazon property in northern Ecuador.

Alberta-listed Asia Minerals closed at 26 cents, up 16 cents. The company has begun drilling at the Northwest High Grade zone on the Copperstone property in Arizona; its aim is to expand the indicated and inferred resource of 890,000 tons averaging 0.53 oz. per ton.

Argentina Gold jumped 23 cents to finish at 70 cents. The company has begun its 1998-99 field season by drill-testing the Amable target at its 60%-held Veladero project. The first hole is a 110-metre stepout from last season’s hole 76, which returned 193 metres of 1.49 grams gold and 55.09 grams silver per tonne.

Mountain Province Mining and Camphor Ventures both closed down on news that Monopros will proceed this winter with a major bulk-sampling program at the AK diamond project in the Northwest Territories. Mountain Province shed a quarter to finish at $1.80, while Camphor slipped 6 cents to 60 cents.

Alberta-listed New Indigo Resources rose 40 cents to $1.00 on the discovery of a new land-based kimberlite body at the Jericho project in the Northwest Territories.

Bell Coast Capital finished the period at 39 cents, up 14 cents. The company has resumed drilling on its Copalquin gold-silver property in Mexico’s Durango state.

Cross Lake Minerals was up 8 cents at 57 cents on news that extensive geophysical and geochemistry surveys are being used to define drill targets in four areas of its wholly owned Sheraton-Timmins property in northern Ontario.

Morgain Minerals added 19 cents to finish at 55 cents on reports that Phelps Dodge is planning a drilling program for the Cuatro Hermanos copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Mexico’s Sonora state.