Alberta Stock Exchange New plays liven market

Investors greeted summer exploration plans with enthusiasm during the week ended June 18, driving up the share prices of Cochise Resources, Peter Island Resources and Northern Abitibi Mining.

Gaining nine cents to close at 20 cents, Peter Island announced that linecutting is under way at its 16-claim gold property in Barnet Twp., Ont. Barnet Explorations, with an option on the property, plans to test three previously identified target areas.

Across the border in Quebec, Northern Abitibi and Hixon Gold Resources are probing a strong off-hole geophysical response at their Isle Dieu base metal property near Matagami, Que. The first phase of the program will consist of two or three holes, or 3,000 ft.

Northern Abitibi picked up five cents to close at 25 cents on thin volume.

Exploration is also under way on Cochise’s large tract of land in the Eastmain area of northern Quebec. Cochise will spend $550,000 to explore a mineralized granodiorite contact. At the adjacent MacLeod Lake property, the contact is associated with preliminary reserves of 40 million tons grading 0.44% copper and 0.05% molybdenum.Trading 139,500, Cochise advanced by 25 cents to close at $1.50.

After gaining eight cents last week, Eden Roc Minerals lost some ground, closing down four cents at 45 cents. The company has secured a $2-million loan from a U.S. government agency to finance its Ivory Coast gold project.