STOCK MARKETS — South American gold projects spark

Bullish reports emerging from Canadian projects in South America, specifically from Venezuela and its neighbor Guyana, sparked investor interest on The Toronto Stock Exchange during the week ended Dec. 22.

Analysts like what they see at Placer Dome’s Las Cristinas gold property in Venezuela, and that enthusiasm has spilled over to other Canadian projects in the vicinity.

Expecting to begin production from an alluvial gold deposit in April, Queenstake Resources jumped 62 cents to $1.30 as 2.3 million shares changed hands. The junior added another 20 cents today, Dec. 23, on a volume of more than 600,000.

Queenstake recently signed a joint venture agreement with VSE-listed Mt. Grant Mines to explore and exploit the Bizkaitarra concession in Venezuela. Burns Fry analysts J.C. Potvin and Felix Freeman estimate that Placer’s nearby Las Cristinas property could contain a reserve of some 12 million oz., although the company says it’s too early to speculate on the economic potential of the low-grade mineralization.

Placer, a major international gold producer, shed 13 cents to $14.38. Also entering into the Venezuelan scene with the purchase of one million units of NASDAQ-listed Gold Reserve is Equity Reserve. Equity added 5 cents to close at $1.80 and picked up another nickel today to close at $1.85. In Guyana, which shares the same gold-rich greenstone belt, partners Cambior and Golden Star Resources have started milling ore from their Omai gold mine. The mine is expected to reach commercial production in January and yield 280,000 oz. gold in 1993.

Golden Star, which is actively exploring for gold and diamonds in the area, jumped more than $1 to close at $6.75. Cambior, about to wrap up its takeover of VSM Exploration, slipped 13 cents to $12.

Other senior gold producers also lost ground as the price of the yellow metal slipped from a high of US$337.75 per oz. early in the report period to US$333.25 in New York.

Lac Minerals touched a new low of $6.50, recovering to close the week at $6.63. Pegasus Gold lost 13 cents to $18.38.

A bag of diamonds recovered from alluvial gravels in the Central African Republic also dazzled investors, sending shares of property holder United Reef Petroleums soaring to $1.93 from 99 cents on a volume of 3.25 million. The 32 diamonds, collected on United Reef’s Bamingui concession by local artisanal miners, are thought to be of gem quality. The company will now systematically sample a small area of the property to determine its economic potential.

Today, United Reef continued to be one of the TSE’s most active traders, adding another 36 cents. Reef shareholder Canhorn Mining shed 10 cents today after adding 80 cents to $1.45 during the report period.

Even though there was little in the way of news to be had from diamond prospects in Canada, trading of juniors active in the Lac de Gras area of the Northwest Territories remained strong during the report period. Pure Gold Resources, which believes its Humpy Lake property in the Northwest Territories may overlie a cluster separate from the diamond-bearing cluster at Lac de Gras, added 2 cents to 40 cents on a volume of 7.99 million. Both Aber Resources and SouthernEra Resources, which are expected to release further results from their Tenby property shortly, also gained ground. Aber tacked on 5 cents to $2.65, while SouthernEra picked up 30 cents to $4.10. But the flagship of the Territories play, Dia Met Minerals, shed $3 to $37.50. Further results from the company’s claims are not expected to be available until next spring.

Planning to resume production at the Estrades polymetallic mine in Quebec, Breakwater Resources added 4 cents to 26 cents. The mine has been dewatered and production is expected to begin in March, 1993.