TSX Venture Exchange advances, Apr. 4-8 

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index advanced 22.21 points or 2.6% over the Apr. 4-8 trading session to end at 888.21. 

The week’s most actively traded stock was Pure Gold Mining, which declined 12¢ or 31.9% to end at 25¢, with 24.9 million shares changing hands. In late March, the junior reported that it would need to raise $50 million within the next six months to continue operating its PureGold mine in Red Lake, Ont., and to service interest on its debt. On Apr. 8, it reported it had received notice of a civil lawsuit in British Columbia’s Supreme Court alleging the company had failed to disclose information relating to its operations. The plaintiff in the action is seeking certification to proceed with a class action suit for “unspecified damages for losses incurred in their investments in the company,” Pure Gold said in a release. 

Westhaven Gold shares rose 58.1% or 25¢ during the week, ending at 68¢. On Apr. 6, the Vancouver-based junior reported its highest-grade intercept to date at its Shovelnose gold project, located 30 km south of Merritt, B.C. Drill hole SN22-212 returned 23 metres of 37.24 grams gold per tonne and 214.7 grams silver per tonne. The hole is over 2 km from the heart of the South zone open pit resource at the project, which Westhaven released in January. The South zone contains 10.6 million indicated tonnes grading 2.32 grams gold and 11.43 grams silver, plus 9.2 million inferred tonnes grading 0.89 gram gold and 3.47 grams silver. The property is located in the emerging Spences Bridge Gold Belt. 

Osisko Metals enjoyed a 38.8% bump to its share price over the week, ending at 59¢ per share. The company announced an option to acquire the Gaspé copper mine in Quebec from Glencore Canada on Mar. 28. Osisko has agreed to pay US$25 million upfront (to be paid by way of a convertible note), plus US$20 million in cash upon the start of commercial production at the mine. Osisko must also incur $5 million in drilling costs at the property before the end of June 2022. The company expects to release an initial inferred resource estimate for the past-producing Mount Copper deposit at the site by the end of the year. Gaspé Copper was a significant copper producer starting in the 1950s up until the late 1990s. During that time, a total of 150 million tonnes of ore averaging 0.87% copper, with minor gold and silver credits, was extracted. The project produced 2.8 million tonnes of copper anode. Osisko also holds the Pine Point zinc-lead project in the Northwest Territories, which it is advancing towards a feasibility study.