CDNX fails to follow Toronto’s lead

Canada’s junior exchange lost ground over the report period ended Aug. 15. The Canadian Venture Exchange composite index dropped 28.67 points, or 0.9%, to finish the week at 3,318.74, and the market’s mining index lost 18.59 points, or 0.4%, to close at 4,415.19.

Investors sold off shares in Pacific North West Capital after the company announced that drill results from its second-stage program on the Dana Lake palladium-platinum prospect, 60 km east of Sudbury, Ont. The issue plummeted 60 to end the week at 80 on a volume of 1 million shares. Seven of the nine holes drilled into the main body of mineralization returned encouraging bulk-tonnage values over minable widths, but the five holes to the north failed to cut minable grades. A third phase of drilling is set for September.

Hunter-Dickinson-led Great Basin Gold ended the week a nickel richer and closed at $2 after trading 1 million shares. The junior recently added $6.8 million to its treasury as all its outstanding warrants were exercised. It continues to drill its wholly owned Ivanhoe gold property, in Nevada’s Carlin trend. To date, the company has extended the Clementine high-grade gold-silver feeder vein system 100 metres west of the previously defined Hollister disseminated gold deposit.

Gallery Resources tacked on 4 to close at 30, with 1 million shares changing hands over the week. The company released results from its Cabot Lake South property in Labrador. All five drill holes intersected semi-massive to massive sulphide mineralization, and assay results returned highly anomalous, but sub-economic, metal values. The company nonetheless intends to continue drilling the mineralized system.

Charles Fipke’s Cantex Mine Development dropped 9 to close at 38 on 890,000 shares. Investors have sold down shares in the junior since the company announced a joint venture with Toronto-listed Falconbridge on the Suwar massive-sulphide project in Yemen. The major plans to run a ground electromagnetic geophysical survey over Suwar shortly.

Gabriel Resources slipped 1 to close at $2.79, with 691,000 shares changing hands. Gabriel is working on the feasibility study for the Rosia Montana gold property in Romania.

Starfield Resources lost 22 and finished the week at $1.15, with 562,000 shares traded. The company has finished compiling data from its spring 2000 exploration program at the Ferguson Lake property (platinum group elements and nickel-copper-cobalt), 200 km west of Rankin Inlet in Nunavut. The geophysical survey identified an anomaly that extends the West zone by 2.3 km to the west. The program has also identified another anomaly, dubbed the M zone, 6 km east of the West zone between the original East zone and Anomaly 51. The M zone anomaly has a 2-km strike length and averages about 400 metres in width. Drilling is testing both anomalies.

Pan Asia Mining lost a penny and closed at 12 on 553,000 shares traded. With an additional $3-million financing in its coffers, the junior is focusing its attention at increasing production to more than 250,000 carats per year at the 701 diamond mine in China. The mine cranks out 100,000-150,000 carats per year.