CDNX grabs bull by horns

Canada’s junior exchange ended the report period Aug. 23-29 on a high note, with all indices posting gains. The Canadian Venture Exchange composite index jumped 64.61 points, or 1.9%, to finish the week at 3420.60. The mining index soared 111.87 points, or 2.5%, to close at 4,568.40.

Vital Pacific Resources found a penny and closed at 6 on the trading of 1.9 million shares. The junior inked a deal to earn a 75% stake in four platinum-palladium properties near Sudbury, Ont. The 22-sq.-km Pardo North property and the 20-sq.-km Dana East property are near Pacific North West Capital‘s Dana Lake platinum-palladium discovery in River Valley. The other two properties — Satellite (52.5 sq. km) and B-Blob (15 sq. km) — have never been explored.

Kalahari Resources closed at 30, up 17 on 1.6 million shares. The junior stopped drilling the Villebon polymetallic project in Quebec after it completed eight holes and tested seven geophysical anomalies. The best results to date came from hole 5, which returned 1.85% zinc and 0.15% copper over 1.1 metres. The drill program was halted in order to assess results and complete a geophysical program.

Shore Gold tumbled 64 to finish the week at $1.06, with 1.5 million shares changing hands. Investors appeared to be disappointed in the preliminary diamond counts from Shore’s recently completed drill program on the Star kimberlite property in Saskatchewan. Results from the first eight holes increased the total macrodiamond count by 104%, compared with previous results over intervals of continuous kimberlite. The junior has completed 21 diamond drill holes on the kimberlite (16 of which were drilled this year). All intersected kimberlite.

Kensington Resources lost 3 to close at 54, with 1.9 million shares crossing the floor. The company is in the midst of a $2.3-million drill program at the Fort a la Corne property in Saskatchewan, and intends to drill four or five large-diameter reverse-circulation holes. The goal is to collect up to 610 tonnes of kimberlite.

Atacama Minerals tacked on 18 to close at 61, with 1.1 million shares changing hands. The company, in a joint venture with Chilean-based ACF Minera, is poised to develop the Aguas Blancas iodine deposit. Proven and probable reserves stand at 44 million tonnes grading 512 parts per million iodine, 22% sodium sulphate and 2.87% nitrates.

Pacific North West Capital ended the week at 78, up 3 on the trading of 334,000 shares. The Harry Barr-led company continues to carry out surface trenching southeast of its Dana Lake zone on the River Valley property in Ontario. Recent work uncovered 6.9 grams combined platinum-palladium per tonne in a new zone of mineralization.

Gallery Resources lost 7 to close the week at 24, with 709,000 shares changing hands. The company has kicked off a second phase of drilling on its joint-venture property at Cabot Lake in northern Labrador. The 2,000-metre program is testing areas with strong electrical conductors. Geophysical surveys are currently trying to define additional targets.