Venture-listed explorers continue rise

Strong metal prices continued to buoy the junior mining market, giving the S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index a 3.2% boost on the week, closing up 53.14 points at 1728.99 for the period June 14-20. Volumes also showed improvement, with an average of 40.5 million shares trading daily.

There were indications are of a slightly increased retail investor presence, as opposed to the heavy participation of institutional investors that has been evident in the market.

The volume leader for the week was Mustang Minerals, which saw 7 million shares change hands and which posted a strong gain of 50, or 86%, to close at $1.08 per share. The junior explorer of nickel, copper and platinum group metals drilled four holes at its Maskwa-Mayville project in eastern Manitoba, all of which returned significant intercepts of net-textured, semi-massive-to-massive sulphides. M2 is a 1,300-metre-long, east-trending conductor in the Mayville layered mafic-ultramafic intrusive. Mustang recently consolidated ownership of the Mayville property by acquiring Falconbridge‘s 40% interest in the joint venture.

The second most active trader was mid-1990s diamond darling Dentonia Resources, with a volume of 5.4 million shares. The junior gained almost a dime to close the week at 24. A mini-bulk test on Dentonia’s DO-27 kimberlite pipe (part of the old Tli Kwi Cho project), in the Lac de Gras area of the Northwest Territories, returned an average grade of almost 1 carat per tonne from a 151-tonne kimberlite sample extracted by large-diameter drilling. The test recovered more than 1,800 diamonds, 21 of which were larger than half a carat. The stone parcel is being sent to several valuators for estimates. Sampling targeted the central portion of the vent, parts of which were tested by Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott in a 5,000-tonne bulk-sampling program 11 years ago. Low carat counts eventually induced the major to walk from the project, though the latest sampling appears to have located a higher-grade phase of the kimberlite. Dentonia is partnered with Peregrine Diamonds (the operator), Horseshoe Gold, Kettle River Resources, Archon Minerals, Aber Diamond and SouthernEra Diamonds on the revived project.

Alexis Minerals was the third most active, trading 3.5 million shares and closing up 8 at 63. The company, partnered with Noranda, pulled impressive high-grade copper values from its Rouyn-Noranda area West Ansil project earlier this year. The junior also recently cut significant copper mineralization, along with partner Novicourt, near the Louvicourt mine.

Top percentage gainer Fortuna Ventures closed up almost 120%, at 75, after being brought back to trade following a trading halt of almost six months. The company is acquiring the Caylloma silver mine in Peru.