TSX Venture closes above 700, May 19-22

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index registered gains during the shortened period, as it jumped 1.2%, or 8.17 points, before finishing at 703.48 points.

Markets kept traction despite an underwhelming performance for commodity futures, while Statistics Canada reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.8% year-on-year in April, which represents the weakest performance since October 2013. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated the central bank would raise rates later this year, as the U.S. economy rebounds.

August contracts for gold bullion dropped 1.9%, or US$23.70, before closing the trading period at US$1,204.90 per oz. July contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost US52¢, en route to a US$59.72-per-barrel close, while July contracts for copper finished down 4%, or US12¢, at US$2.81 per lb.

Explorer Kennady Diamonds led the value-added category after announcing new drill results from a program at the Faraday 2 kimberlite at its Kennady North project in the Northwest Territories. The company jumped 85¢ on 122,346 shares traded, before finishing at $5.40 per share.

On May 19 Kennady announced results from hole 15-36, which cut over 73 metres of kimberlite at Faraday 2. The result is the longest intersect to date, and the target is now defined over a 200-metre strike trending southwest. Given the closeness to the shoreline, the company is planning land-based drilling of the F2 kimberlite as part of the mid-year program, so that it can track it on strike to the west.

Zenyatta Ventures sat atop the volume-lost column after releasing results from initial testing of several high-purity graphite samples from its Albany project in northern Ontario. The company dropped 23¢ on 745,000 shares traded, before closing at $2.28 per share. On May 19 Zenyatta announced that its latest screening tests show Albany graphite in multiple applications. The company mixed its samples with steel, copper and lubricant powders to produce a powder metallurgy specimen. The flow properties of the mixture compare favourably with the mixture made with benchmark materials.

Zenyatta expects to have a targeted market application segmentation that includes: high-purity graphite, Lithium-ion batteries and fuel cell products.

Quebec-focused Integra Gold had a busy trading period after it announced finding multiple, steeply dipping zones at the Triangle target on its Lamaque South gold project east of Val-d’Or. The company saw nearly 7.6 million shares change hands, as it gained 4¢ en route to a 31¢ close.