Donner bucks trend as junior market slides

Vancouver — Canada’s junior exchange remained in a bear mood during the report period ended Nov. 26. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index lost 2.2 points, or 0.23%, and closed at 942.59.

In what appeared to be the flushing-out of a recent non-brokered private placement of up to 4 million units priced at 20 per unit, shares in Radius Explorations plunged 6 and closed at 23 on a volume of 2.9 million shares. The Simon Ridgway-led junior holds a large land position in Guatemala.

The latest drill results from the Mesamax discovery zone in northernmost Quebec sent investors in Canadian Royalties running for the exits. The company lost 76 and closed the week at $2.08 with 2.9 million shares crossing the floor. The best results from the new batch of samples came from hole 25, which was collared 35 metres east of the discovery hole and yielded 3.23% nickel, 3.93% copper and 0.11% cobalt, plus 1.01 grams gold, 0.75 gram platinum and 1.64 grams palladium per tonne over 21.2 metres.

Donner Minerals continued to trade heavily on news that Toronto-listed Falconbridge will move forward on the South Voisey’s Bay nickel sulphide project in Labrador. The junior added a penny and closed at 15 with 1.6 million shares traded.

Pan Asia Mining found a penny and closed at 6 with 1.4 million shares traded. The company has agreed to a private placement of up to a million units priced at 5 each to raise $100,000. A portion of the proceeds will be applied to the 701 diamond joint venture in China.

QGX tacked on 2 and closed at $1.28 with 1.3 million shares traded. The company intersected gold mineralization in the first two holes drilled at the Central Valley zone of its Golden Hills prospect in Mongolia. Results from hole 1 returned 48 metres averaging 3.79 grams gold per tonne. Hole 2 intersected 72.1 metres grading 2.1 grams gold per tonne.

Minera Capital traded 1.1 million shares but remained flat at 12. In April, the company picked up eight diamond claims, known as the Wemindji property, in Quebec. The price tag came in at $175,000 and 600,000 shares. The property is subject to a 3% royalty.

Expatriate Resources got a boost on news that it had acquired 166 additional claims in the Finlayson district of the Yukon. The claims, which are included under the recently announced option and joint-venture agreement with privately owned YK Group, cover geological settings considered favourable for emeralds. Shares in the junior gained 2 and closed the week at 10 on a volume of 1 million shares.

Madison Enterprises lost a penny and closed at 13 on 1 million shares. Drill results from the Virgin fault target on the Lewis property in Nevada included up to 3.24 oz. gold per ton over 15 ft.

Tom Exploration tacked on 11 and closed at 48 with 1 million shares traded. The company recently received a preliminary study of the Mount Tuzo perlite and bentonite project in the Gaspe Peninsula of eastern Quebec. An industrial minerals brokerage firm has been hired to arrange financing for exploration and development.

Starfield Resources lost 4 and closed at 33 on 915,000 shares. The company is raising $3.5 million through a private placement.