STOCK MARKETS — Diamond fever gives boost to VSE resource

Diamond exploration returned to the limelight during the period ended March 23, helping to propel the Vancouver Stock Exchange resource index up more than 42 points to the 879 level. The composite index also gained ground, edging up a more modest 4.71 points to 770.09.

Dentonia Resources, Kettle River Resources and Alberta Stock Exchange-listed Horseshoe Gold Mining, joint venture partners in the DHK Resource syndicate, benefited from news that Kennecott intersected 12 metres of porphyritic kimberlite on the WO property about 25 km south of the Point Lake discovery in the Northwest Territories.

Dentonia gained 52 cents to finish at $2.35, Kettle River jumped 65 cents to $4.45 and Horseshoe closed at $2.55 for an increase of 62 cents. Kennecott is earning a 65% interest in the block of ground with partners Commonwealth Gold, and TSE-listed SouthernEra Resources and Aber Resources. Commonwealth managed a high of $1.13 before closing up 12 cents at $1.03 on 1.8 million shares.

The recent hole on the WO property is believed to have intersected the edge of the pipe, and as a result, Kennecott is drilling a second hole nearby in an attempt to retrieve a larger core sample.

A till sample about 600 metres down-ice from the kimberlite returned three G-10 garnets and eight chrome diopsides. Putting this into perspective, early sampling leading to the discovery at Point Lake returned up to 6,000 pyrope garnets and 1,500 chrome diopsides in a single 10-kg sample. Although the reported tally of kimberlite pipes is now 19 (including 10 on the BHP Minerals/Dia Met Minerals block), the Dia Met ground is rumored to have more than 100 pipes identified, of which at least nine contain diamonds. The significance of the discovery of a kimberlite pipe in diamond exploration has been likened by some to the discovery of a quartz vein in gold exploration.

Reports that Lytton Minerals had intersected kimberlite on its 100% owned ground in the Lac de Gras area helped push the issue to a high of $3.55 for a gain of 65 cents and a market capitalization of more than $300 million. Kalahari Resources, which has an extensive land position in the Northwest Territories diamond play, added 15 cents to finish at $2.40. A recent agreement to purchase a 100% interest in the Shamrock Lake property in the Northwest Territories helped Rochester Minerals with a 12 cents boost to 39 cents.

Affiliated companies Kenrich Mining and Ambergate Explorations could not account for recent doubling in both companies’ share prices to the 85 cents level, noting that there are no material changes in their affairs. Trading in Swannell Minerals picked up; more than 2.7 million shares changed hands and the issue climbed 16 cents at 52 cents. Swannell, with ground in the Fort a la Corne area of northern Saskatchewan, recently announced the acquisition of a 50% interest in three permit blocks in the Peace River area about 350 km northwest of Edmonton.

ASE-listed Aaron Oil and Rhonda Mining both gained ground as exploration drilling continues at their Fort a la Corne joint venture. The companies have completed four holes to date, although results are not yet available. Aaron added 30 cents to finish at $2.25 while Rhonda gained 75 cents to close at $8.25.

Golden News edged back to the 75 cents level after more than doubling during the previous week. The company owns more than 400,000 acres in the Fort a la Corne area and tied recent activity to diamond exploration activity on nearby ground owned by Uranerz, Cameco and Monopros as well as the Aaron/Rhonda joint venture.

Pleased with exploration results to date at the Petaquilla copper-gold project in Panama, Adrian Resources announced plans to begin negotiations to acquire an additional interest in the property. Adrian currently has the right to earn a 32% interest in the property. The issue finished the week up 49 cents at $1.25 on more than two million shares.

Sutton Resources continued to put in a strong showing, touching a high of $17.87 before closing up $1.75 at $17.68. The company expects to start a drilling program shortly at its Marudi gold project in Guyana to test a number of targets within a large gold-in-soil anomaly.