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
| 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 |
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