TSX Venture slips, March 6-10

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index shed 19.27 points to an 818.46-point close, as spot gold prices tumbled US$30.17, or 2.4%, to US$1,204.64 per oz., and Comex copper prices fell 10¢, or 3.7%, to US$2.6 per lb.

Aurania Resources led the value-added category, gaining $1.75 to $3 per share after announcing plans to acquire EcuaSolidus from Aurania’s president and CEO, Keith Barron, for its Lost Cities — Cutucu gold project in southeastern Ecuador. Barron was the founder of Aurelian Resources, which discovered Lundin Gold’s 7 million oz. Fruta del Norte gold deposit in 2006. To complete the acquisition, Aurania would issue 1 million shares and $500,000 in cash to EcuaSolidus, and complete a financing totaling no less than $6 million at a price of no less than $1.00 per share. The project covers a 2,080 sq. km area that shares similar geology with Fruta del Norte, which is located 90 km south. The company aims to complete geophysics and regional stream silt sampling at the property.

Shares of Tinka Resources gained 19¢ to 52¢ on news of a high-grade zinc discovery at its Ayawilca project, 200 km northeast of Lima, Peru. The company intercepted 62.4 metres of 5.6% zinc from 127.5 metres deep in the first hole of the company’s 10,000-metre drill program. The hole was located 400 metres south of the project’s existing inferred resource of 18.8 million tonnes of 8.2% zinc equivalent. Mineralization at Ayawilca occurs as gently dipping lenses of semi-massive sulphide replacements of carbonate and clastic sediments, whereas at least one vertical chimney is known at project’s West Ayawilca zone where the zinc grades are higher.

Barsele Minerals gained 17¢ to $1.03 per share after releasing drill highlights for its Barsele gold project in northern Sweden, currently under 55% joint venture with Agnico Eagle Mines. The company announced intercepts of 10 metres of 1 gram gold per tonne at 20 metres deep, 16.5 metres of 2.3 grams at 315 metres deep, and 62 metres of 1.6 grams gold at 390 metres deep. All intercepts are reported in true-widths. The project is located on the western end of a prolific volcanogenic massive sulphide belt called the Skellefte trend, and where it intersects a prospective gold trend in Northern Sweden.

Shares of Karmin Exploration fell 21¢ to 57¢ after announcing a resource update at its 30% owned Aripuana zinc-lead-silver project in northwestern Brazil, with partner Votorantim Metais, a Brazilian metals giant. Aripuana’s three main zones of mineralization, Arex, Ambrex and Link, is said to contain 15.9 million measured and indicated tonnes of 5.9% zinc, 2.2% lead, 0.2% copper, 0.3 gram gold and 55 grams silver per tonne as stratabound, and 2.6 million measured and indicated tonnes of 0.2% zinc, 0.1% lead, 1.7% copper, 1.5 grams gold and 18 grams silver as stringers. The update saw a 31%, 40% and 39% silver increase in zinc-lead-silver grades, partly due to higher cut-off grades used in the resource estimation than in the 2013 estimate. The resource also incorporated 41,000 metres of additional drilling.