TSX Venture falls, May 23-27

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index fell 2.6%, or 17.6 points, to a 668.54-point close over the trading period.

Spot gold hit a three-month low, falling 3.2%, or US$39.60, to US$1,212.38 per oz. gold, while stronger oil prices boosted three-month London Metal Exchange copper contracts, rising US$78 per tonne, or 1.7%, to a US$4,700-per-tonne close.

American Lithium led the value-added category, gaining 24¢ to a $1.27-per-share close, after an all-share deal to acquire a privately held company and its Colorado and San Emidio lithium brine joint-venture projects in Nevada. The B.C.-based explorer will acquire the private company in exchange for 6 million shares.

The Colorado project increases American Lithium’s land position to a contiguous 74.9 sq. km in Esmeralda County’s Fish Lake Valley, whereas the San Emidio project, 100 km northeast of Reno, brings the company’s total land holdings in Nevada to 84.1 sq. km.

Previous explorers on the San Emidio target defined a lithium-in-brine anomaly 1 km wide and more than 5 km long, with concentrations ranging from trace up to 23.7 milligrams of lithium per litre at 24 to 39 metres deep from sample wells.

Alset Energy saw 27.8 million shares traded before closing up 23¢ to 36¢-per-share on news of initial sampling results at its Wisa Lake spodumene lithium project, 80 km east of Fort Frances, Ont.

The company reported grab samples of 1.4% and 0.95% lithium oxide from the project’s North zone. Samples collected 900 metres south and parallel to the North zone returned 1.75%, 1.47% and 1.45% lithium oxide. The property hosts a historic resource of 330,000 tonnes grading 1.15% lithium oxide.

Alset also identified multiple conductive zones associated with flake graphite on its newly acquired Champion graphite project, north of Kenora, Ont. Several 1-metre-deep holes dug over 1.3 km on the property graded 1.7% to 9% carbon.

Shares of Great Thunder Gold jumped 6¢, or 150%, to a 15¢-per-share close after announcing intentions to option the Chubb and Bouvier spodumene lithium properties near Val-d’Or, Que.

Great Thunder must pay $60,000 to a vendor over the next six months to exercise the option, along with 2.4 million shares and a 2% gross metal royalty. The company will also grant a finder’s fee equal to 7% of the option’s number of issuable shares.

Nemaska Lithium closed up 14¢ to $1.75-per-share after receiving the first $5-million tranche from Ressources Québec — a subsidiary of provincial government-owned Investissement Québec.

The company will receive the remaining $5-million balance after meeting construction milestones.