Bullion bearish on Venture Exchange

Vancouver — A slump in the price of bullion dragged down Canada’s junior exchange over the week ended Feb. 11. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index shed 35.54 points, or 3.45% of its value, to close the period at 1,094.48.

American Bonanza Gold Mining closed the week down 5, to 32, on a volume of 5.7 million shares. Stock in the junior has traded heavily since Toronto-listed Goldcorp reported it has taken a 10.4% stake in the junior.

Investors continued to show an interest in Goldminco, which is in the midst of a 1,000-metre drill program on the Balabag gold-silver property in the Philippines. Shares in the junior lost a penny and closed at 14 as 5.6 million shares crossed the floor.

Northern Empire Minerals slumped 5, to 80, on 2.3 million shares. The company and its joint-venture partner, Stornoway Ventures, recently recovered diamonds from two kimberlite showings on the Melville Peninsula project in Nunavut. Stornoway lost 11 and closed at 81 as 1.8 million shares were swapped. Northern Empire recently picked up an additional 3,642 sq. km on Victoria Island, increasing its total land position to 40,468 sq. km. The company has properties in the Coronation, Melville Peninsula, Victoria Island and Rankin Inlet areas of Nunavut, as well in the Otish Mountains region of Quebec.

ECU Silver Mining dropped 2 and finished the week at 8 on a volume of 1.9 million shares. The junior has entered production at the Santa Juana mine, where it is initially focusing on three fully developed veins: B, CC and G1.

Arctic Star Diamonds tacked on 28 and closed at $1.07 with 1.8 million shares changing hands. The company, together with partner Oasis Diamond Exploration, is drilling the Sigma target, part of the Enigma project, near Wawa, Ont. Oasis remained flat at 11 with 1.02 million shares traded.

Mustang Minerals jumped 10 and closed at 90 on 1.6 million shares. The company is exploring its McAra Lake volcanogenic massive sulphide property in the Shining Tree district of Ontario, just south of Timmins.

Marum Resources closed at 14, down 2, on 1.2 million shares. A 1,200-metre drill program is under way on the B20 property, near Port-Cartier, Que., where a down-hole electromagnetic survey was recently completed.

Alamos Minerals and partner National Gold are merging. The two companies hold the Salamandra gold property in Sonora state, Mexico. Alamos lost 2 and closed at 51 on 1.2 million shares while National shed 6 and closed at 41 on a volume of 1.1 million shares.

Diagem International Resource closed at 26, up 2 on almost 1.2 million shares. The company holds several projects in the Juina diamond province of Mato Grosso state in Brazil and is processing diamonds from gravel deposits at a pilot plant. Line-cutting, geological mapping and shallow drilling of the Acori 2 kimberlite pipe were recently carried out.

Doublestar Resources ended the week flat at 47 on the exchange of 1.1 million shares. The company estimates that its Sustut copper project in British Columbia holds a total resource of 8.56 million tonnes grading 1.6% copper. The results give the project 21% more copper (25% at a cutoff grade of 0.65% copper) than was first envisioned.