STOCK MARKETS — Depressed mining stocks point to sluggish VSE — Cross Lake, Mountain Lake among the few juniors to buck the trend

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index closed down 25.86 points, or 3.9%, to close at 631.35 for the report period ended Dec. 2. The mining index dropped 24.95 points, or 4.6%, to close at 515.36. The combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange fell 54.46 points, or 2.3%, to 2329.32.

Cross Lake Minerals shot up 65cents to close at $3.45. Anticipation of drill results at the company’s Sheraton-Timmins property in Ontario seemed to fuel market speculation. The company recently released 187,500 shares from escrow; there are now 262,500 shares remaining in escrow.

Indo Metals slid down 19cents to close at 90cents. The company’s Wai Ira prospect on Haruku Island in Indonesia represents one of several high-grade base metal showings in the area. Under a joint-venture agreement, Indo Metals can acquire about half of Ingold’s 85% interest in the project.

Ingold is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toronto-listed Inco. The other 15% is held by the Indonesian government. During the third quarter, three of 18 shallow bore holes intersected massive-to-semi-massive mineralization. One of the intersections hit 8 metres grading 1.7% copper, 7.3% lead and 10.3% zinc, plus 42 grams silver per tonne. Drilling is being carried out along strike of the mineralized body, and the joint venture hopes to define other targets by way of geochemical, geophysical and geological surveys.

Mountain Lake Resources climbed 5cents to close at 45cents. The company recently signed an agreement with Toronto-listed Noranda to launch a major exploration campaign on its Maliseet Mountain property, 25 km west of Noranda’s Heath Steel mine in New Brunswick. Mountain Lake recently discovered a massive sulphide system when it intersected a 6.6-metre zone grading 8.2% zinc 0.22 % lead, 0.1% copper and 15.9 grams silver. Another zone, measuring 2.5 metres, returned 9.56% zinc 0.2% lead, 0.09% copper and 17.6 grams silver.

Mar-West Resources fell 11cents to close at 99cents. The junior recently received title to the 3,900-ha Jutiapa II concession in Guatemala and is gearing up for a drill program in early 1998.

South Atlantic Resources dropped 5cents to 55cents. The company signed a letter-of-intent with Toronto-listed Teck to join forces in the exploration and development of diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes on the Coromandel project in Brazil. Previous work identified eight kimberlite intrusions.

Microdiamonds were found in a bulk-sampling program on the Serrinha 1 kimberlite pipe.

Alberta-listed Gallery Resources slid 19cents to close at 29cents. The company finished the last four holes of a 6-hole program at its Harp Lake 2 project in southern Labrador. The holes outlined a disseminated copper-nickel zone about 225 ft. wide and 90 ft. deep. The zone is open to the east and west and contains up to 10% sulphide mineralization.

Alberta-listed Gitennes Exploration tumbled 85cents to close at $2.25. The company posted a 9-month loss of $1.2 million, compared with a loss of $275,918 in the corresponding period last year. Drilling continues at the Alumbre and Rio Suro Norte zones. An underground tunnel has been started at the Rio Suro zone.

Alberta-listed Spider Resources spiraled down 5cents to close at 14cents.

Its joint-venture partner, Toronto-listed KWG Resources, filed for court protection against creditors and is reviewing the circumstances around the unauthorized borrowings from two of its affiliates.