TSX Venture closes flat, April 28-May 2

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index shrugged off early week doldrums to gain 0.87 of a point during the trading sessions, en route to 1,014.46-point close. Commodity futures rallied late in the period, while a U.S. economic report indicated job growth had expanded at the fastest rate in more than two years in April. The Canadian dollar closed out the week at US91.1¢.

June contracts for gold bullion popped at the end of the trading period before closing down US$4.50 at US$1,299.70 per oz. Crude oil futures followed a similar trading pattern, with June contracts for West Texas Intermediate ending the week down US83¢ at US$99.92 per barrel. July contracts for copper hit a mid-week low of US$3 per lb., before bouncing back to close down US2.9¢ at US$3.06 per lb.

Integrated-energy outfit American Vanadium was near the top of the value-added category during the week, as the company added to its management team and extended the second tranche of a private placement. American Vanadium gained 21¢ on 2.8 million shares traded before closing out the week at 70¢ per share.

The company raised $4 million in early March during its first tranche, wherein it issued 10 million units priced at 40¢ per unit to Dundee Corp.

Former investment banker Bill Whalen is stepping in as American Vanadium’s non-executive chairman, which follows news that the company will partner with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to demonstrate its patented vanadium redox flow energy storage system.

Probe Mines released assays from 34 holes testing 600 metres of strike along Borden’s high-grade zone (HGZ). Despite reporting “42 significant intercepts averaging 2.3 grams gold per tonne over a drill-indicated width of 18.8 metres,” Probe dropped 54¢ on 2.4 million shares traded during the week, en route to a $2.45 close.

Probe reported that the HGZ reaches an average 480 metres deep, with highlights including: 71 metres grading 3.5 grams gold from 495 metres depth in hole 14-611; 40 metres averaging 3 grams gold from 594 metres depth in hole 14-616W; and 23 metres of 1.2 grams gold from 452 metres depth in hole 14-594. The company says the “thick intersections of gold mineralization” could be “amenable to underground mining.”

Explorer Fission Uranium topped the volume-traded category with 12.9 million shares changing hands, dropping 3¢ en route to a $1.28-per-share close. The company has wrapped up its winter exploration program at its Patterson Lake South discovery outside Saskatchewan’s Athabasca basin.

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