TSX Venture enjoys week-long rally, April 6-10

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index managed five days of gains during the trading period, as it jumped 2.3%, or 15.86 points, before closing at a four-week high of 698.88 points. The rally was underpinned by rising commodity futures, while Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian economy added 29,000 jobs in March, though the unemployment rate stayed the same at 6.8%.

June contracts for gold bullion gained US$3.70 before closing at US$1,204.60 per oz. Meanwhile, May contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 5.1%, or US$2.50, en route to a US$51.64-per-barrel close. May contracts for copper traded relatively flat during the week before finishing at US$2.73 per lb.

Explorer Kennady Diamonds once again sat atop the value-added category, as it provides a steady stream of news from its Kennady North project in the Northwest Territories. Shares gained 92¢ on 496,400 traded before closing at $4.85.

On April 9 Kennady announced completing a bulk sample at its Kelvin kimberlite, which helped recover 436 tonnes of material. Based on diamond recovery results to date, the company expects to recover 1,000 carats from the sample. Kennady also announced that 75 metres of kimberlite had been intersected during delineation drilling at its Faraday 2 target in drill hole 15-007.

After the sampling program, the company reported that two core drill rigs are being mobilized. One rig is drilling farther along the Kelvin kimberlite while the other will drill the Faraday 1 target.

Junior Palladon Ventures topped the value-lost category, with its equity valuation plummetting after the company revealed its future is in jeopardy due to financial struggles. Palladon dropped 40¢ on 3.7 million shares traded before finishing the trading period at 1¢ per share.

On April 6 the company announced selling its 19% interest in CML International, which is developing the Iron Mountain iron ore project in southwestern Utah to Gilbert Development for US$4.5 million in cash. The deal will also see Gilbert assume as much as US$9.9 million in liability.

Palladon reported that recent efforts to raise funds have been unsuccessful, and indicated its current cash position totals $33,000.

Rare earth outfit Great Western Minerals appears to be another junior sinking under heavy debt burdens. The company topped the volume-traded category during the week after reporting an update on US$90 million in convertible bonds. Great Western saw 12 million of its shares change hands, though its valuation remained static at 1¢ per share. On April 7 the company reported it had missed an interest payment of US$3.6 million on the bonds, which carry an 8% interest rate, and are due in 2017.