TSX Venture Exchange Dec. 11-17

Gold slipping below US$800 per oz., coupled with year-end tax loss selling, prompted a 143.32-point drop in the S&P-TSX Venture Composite Index over the Dec. 11-17 trading session. The index closed down more than 5% at 2,607.95. Daily trading volumes for the period averaged 83 million shares.

Bears again decimated bulls over the week with only a dozen companies eking out a new yearly high, while 214 dropped to 52-week lows.

Eagerly anticipated drill assays from Carmax Explorations’ Eaglehead property, in northern B.C.’s Quesnel Trough, did not quite live up to expectations as the stock shed 25%, closing down 7 at 21.5 per share on volume of over 44 million shares. Hole 74 returned 203 metres of 0.35% copper, 0.015% molybdenum and 0.1 gram gold per tonne.

Southern Africa-focused Rockwell Diamonds saw 13.3 million shares change hands, remaining even at 63 per share. Most of the trading volume was a large market cross in which major shareholder Pala Investments acquired 11.75 million shares, boosting its holdings in Rockwell to 13.7%.

Shares of beleaguered Yukon Zinc slipped three pennies to close the week at 8.5 apiece on trading volume of 11.7 million. The company recently withdrew plans to raise $130 million due to weak market conditions and is instead looking to raise $8 million to maintain development and engineering activities at its Wolverine project.

On volume of almost 10.9 million shares, Gravity West Mining shed 3.5 to close at 16.5 per share. Assays are pending from the company’s Voltaire Lake project, in northwestern Ontario’s Sibley basin region, where recent drilling cut massive sulphides.

Mexican-focused molybdenum explorer Creston Moly posted trading volume of more than 10 million shares, closing the week off a nickel at 37 per share. The company is in the midst of an aggressive drill program at its Creston project in Sonora state, where it is looking to upgrade the inferred resource of 84 million tonnes grading 0.076% molybdenum.

Victoria Resource saw a 49% gain on the week — closing up 38 at $1.16 on 9.6 million shares traded. Drilling on the company’s Cove-McCoy project, in north-central Nevada, returned a 61.9-metre composite interval grading 12.6 grams gold, including a higher-grade section of 52.2 grams gold over 8.2 metres.

Shares of MacDonald Mines Exploration dropped 32% on the session, down 22 to 47 apiece on volume of 9.3 million. With a $10-million financing closed in November, the company has drill plans for its VMS projects in the McFaulds Lake area of the James Bay lowlands.

Canplats Resources posted further gains, closing up 47%, or 93, to close at $2.90 per share on trading volume of 8 million shares. Further drilling on the Represa zone at its Camino Rojo project in Mexico returned 183 metres grading 1.6 grams gold.

After strong recent gains, shares of Sanatana Diamonds pulled back 20% — down 46 to $1.78 apiece on trading volume of 6.7 million. Sampling of its Dharma kimberlite in the Northwest Territories confirmed it is diamond-bearing.

TSX-V most active issues

		VOLUME(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Carmax Expl	CMX	44166	0.385	0.21	0.215	-0.07
Rockwell Diam	RDI	13305	0.63	0.60	0.63	0.00
Yukon Zinc	YZC	11736	0.12	0.085	0.085	-0.03
Gravity West	GRW	10872	0.205	0.155	0.165	-0.035
Creston Moly	CMS	10127	0.50	0.365	0.37	-0.05
Victoria Res	VIT	9637	1.60	1.13	1.16	+0.38
MacDonald Mns	BMK	9332	0.71	0.47	0.47	-0.22
Canplats Res	CPQ	7995	3.20	2.06	2.90	+0.93
Sanatana Diam	STA	6691	2.40	1.41	1.78	-0.46
VMS Vent	VMS	6447	1.24	0.99	1.00	-0.05

TSX-V greatest percentage change

		VOLUME(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Micrex Devel	MIX	107	0.27	0.165	0.27	+58.8
Victoria Res	VIT	9637	1.60	1.13	1.16	+48.7
Canplats Res	CPQ	7995	3.20	2.06	2.90	+47.2
Minterra Res	MTR	1033	0.20	0.095	0.16	+45.4
Pac Coast Nikl	NKL	823	0.19	0.115	0.155	+34.7
Mirasol Res	MRZ	186	0.84	0.63	0.84	+33.3
CMQ Res	CMQ	322	0.04	0.03	0.04	+33.3
Coral Gold	CLH	268	0.83	0.47	0.68	+33.3
Canaco Res	CAN	508	0.29	0.195	0.26	+33.3
Constant Mtl R	CEM	451	0.69	0.43	0.60	+30.4
Lyra Res	LYR	275	0.04	0.015	0.015	-62.5
Luxor Ind	LRL	13	0.05	0.03	0.03	-57.1
Adroit Res	ADT	211	0.20	0.15	0.16	-54.2
Intl Enexco	IEC	699	2.22	1.22	1.27	-42.2
Samex Mng	SXG	1414	0.97	0.50	0.55	-42.1
Pershimco Res	PRO	3486	0.405	0.195	0.22	-41.3
Action Minls	ATM	2285	0.09	0.055	0.055	-38.8
X-Terra Res	XT	208	0.415	0.26	0.28	-38.4
Tanqueray Res	TQY	1156	0.10	0.06	0.06	-36.8
Carlin Gold	CGD	132	0.11	0.065	0.09	-35.7

TSX-V greatest value change

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		VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Pan Oce Exp	POE	2165175	12.58	+1.93
Canplats Res	CPQ	7995300	2.90	+0.93
Victoria Res	VIT	9637226	1.16	+0.38
SouthGobi Engy	SGQ	70844	8.30	+0.30
Aranka Gold	ARK	261300	2.15	+0.29
Pac Booker Min	BKM	17900	11.62	+0.26
Mirasol Res	MRZ	185662	0.84	+0.21
Coral Gold	CLH	267592	0.68	+0.17
Bralorne Gold	BPM	26000	1.16	+0.15
East Asia Mnls	EAS	2140150	1.45	+0.15
Seabridge Gold	SEA	54205	26.55	-2.95
Noront Res	NOT	4373604	4.10	-1.04
Palmarejo S&G	PJO	1219600	10.81	-0.99
Intl Enexco	IEC	698506	1.27	-0.93
Xemplar Energy	XE	2228398	5.80	-0.89
Wealth Minls	WML	258342	1.66	-0.74
Pitchstone Exp	PXP	231588	1.80	-0.62
Keegan Res	KGN	330664	3.74	-0.59
Antares Minls	ANM	100084	3.53	-0.52
Fortuna Silver	FVI	596119	2.70	-0.51