TSX Venture closes in the black, Aug. 29 – Sept. 2

VANCOUVER — The S&P TSX Venture Composite Index gained 5.39 points during the Aug. 29 – Sept. 2 trading period before closing at 810.92 points. Markets rebounded during late-week trading alongside rising commodity prices, which were led by gold following a sub-par U.S. jobs report released on Friday.

December contracts for gold bullion fell to an intraweek low of US$1,301.50 before fighting back to close flat at US$1,322.10 per oz. December contracts for copper finished the trading period relatively unchanged at US$2.07 per lb., while October contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil bounced off a mid-week low of US$43 before closing down nearly 7% at US$44.44 per barrel.

In corporate re-structuring news, Lukas Lundin’s NGEX Resources closed the spin-off of its Filo del Sol project on the border of Chile’s Region III and adjacent San Juan Province, Argentina. The new vehicle will be called Filo Mining, and commenced trading on Sept. 1.

The newly-minted company has roughly 51.3 million shares outstanding and closed up 84¢ at $1.11 per share on limited trade volumes for a market capitalization of around $57 million. Lundin collectively holds roughly 19.39% in Filo under a pair of Luxembourg-based holding companies, and will serve as chairman of the board.

The Filo project hosts inferred resource of 381 million tonnes at 0.4% copper, 0.33 gram gold per tonne and 12 grams silver per tonne. The new company will also be on the lookout for “exploration opportunities” in the region. NGEx will now focus solely on the development of its nearby Constellation project, which consists of the Josemaria and Los Helados assets.

African-focused Tango Mining experienced heavy trade volumes following news of a non-convertible loan agreement to fund the acquisition of a processing facility and the Botswana diamond operations from Firestone Diamonds.

The company saw around 12.4 million of its shares change hands before it finished the week down 2.5¢ at 6¢ per share. The proposed US$30-million loan commitment with Vanderbilt Commercial Lending will facilitate a deal for the BK11 mine for total consideration of US$8 million. Tango is aiming to re-start open-pit production at BK11, which would yield roughly 569,610 recovered carats over a seven-year mine life.

Shares of explorer Probe Metals were on the rise following news of a discovery along the interpreted Lower Detour Gold Trend roughly 190 km due north of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. The company is advancing the Detour Quebec project under a 50% joint venture with Société québécoise d’exploration minière (SOQUEM).

Probe gained roughly 57¢ on 1.4 million share trade volumes before finishing the trading period at $1.81 per share.

On Aug. 24, the companies announced a new mineralized zone after hole 16-05 cut 3.4 metres grading 5.3 grams gold per tonne from around 249 metres depth. Mineralization is reportedly “characterized by quartz veins within silicified and biotized mafic wall rocks with disseminated pyrite,” and Probe noted that geophysical targets along strike from the discovery represent additional “strong drill targets.”