Vancouver Stock Exchange Trading active despite gold’s fall

Even the latest insider trading scandal failed to have any impact, with many industry-watchers saying a tough stance is necessary for the VSE to re-build investor confidence over the long term. At press time the VSE Index was up 4.7 points at 840.26, an increase of 9.08 points over the week. Brokers note that the strong close at month-end bodes well for February.

O’Hara Resources was among the more active issues at press time, up 2 cents t o 48 cents . The company announced an agreement with H.Q. Minerals to develop a California gold placer property. H.Q. Minerals was also busy today, gaining 6 cents to 31 cents .

Halley Resources was up 4 cents at 35 cents after announcing some positive new developments for its Akweskwa Lake gold property near Timmins, Ont.

Calpine Resources dropped 19 cents to $2.25 over our report period, while partner Consolidated Stikine Silver slipped $1.50 to $12.50. We gather weather conditions are rough right now in northwestern B.C., so it’s likely new results will be slower in coming from the Eskay Creek gold project.

Down in the warmer climes of Nevada, Miramar Energy announced that Newmont Exploration has added a further 1,735 acres of land adjoining and surrounding its Paymaster properties, more than doubling the original land position held by the two companies under a recent joint venture agreement. Rumors are the properties have significant bulk tonnage gold potential. In any event, Miramar climbed a further 74 cents to $2.12 after posting good gains over the last several weeks.

Blackberry Gold gained 17 cents to 37 cents after announcing it had acquired the Postmaster mine in Arizona, a past producing gold and silver mine with reserves of about 100,000 tons of 0.3 oz gold and 5.0 oz silver. The company said a number of companies are interested in joint- venturing the project.

Dragoon Resources was up a nickel to $2.32. The company is completing a financing for work on three diversified mineral projects in southeastern B.C. with partner Greenstone Resources.

American Pacific Mining, which operates a base metals mine in Honduras, was ahead 5 cents to $4.30, while NRG Resources climbed 14 cents to 52 cents after announcing it has leased its Bullard gold-silver-copper property in Arizona to Cominco American Resources.

And interest in Athabaska Gold Resources’ N.W.T. gold project appears to be holding steady; the issue gained a further 12 cents to $1.60. recovery-inhibiting, is the primary mineral and reaches as high as 0.06% in the North zone. Some molybdenite has been noted.

The Ridgeway North and South deposits occur within extensive linear east-west trending alteration zones. These are characterized by widespread sericitization, silicification and quartz-veining.

In the South deposit, economic mineralization is confined to a structurally favorable area approximately 1,900 ft long and up to 750 ft wide within the main alteration zone. A structurally similar area in the North zone covers a strike length of 2,000 ft and a width of 1,000 ft. Total mineable reserves are 56.2 million tons grading 0.032 oz gold at a 0.74:1 strip ratio.

Because sulphide material constitutes the largest portion of the reserve base, developing Ridgeway strictly as a heap leach producer wasn’t practical. So the joint venture opted for conventional agitation leaching and a flow sheet that was applicable to all ore types; it also yielded metallurgical recoveries ranging from 75% to 90% depending on ore type.

It’s probably worth noting that consideration was given to developing a small heap leach operation (5,000 tons per day) for oxide reserves in conjunction with conventional milling; but its $7 million projected cost was prohibitive.

There were a number of technical considerations for not going this route, namely that oxide material at Ridgeway is extremely friable (it crumbles easily) and would have required agglomeration and conveyor stacking (a big ticket item) to ensure adequate percolation of cyanide solution through leach piles.

Although it wouldn’t be described as a tax haven, South Carolina offers a 5-year partial exemption on property taxes. Mining companies only pay taxes for schools, libraries, and fire protection during that period.

]]>