High River ups Buryat holding

High River Gold Mines (HRG-T) has bought a further 10% shareholding in Buryatzoloto, the Russian company that operates the Zun-Holba and Irokinda mines in the Buryat region in eastern Russia.

The value of the cash deal is said to be similar to a share swap in May 2000 with Japanese gold-investment fund Jipangu, which gave High River a 43.4% interest in Buryatzoloto. At High River’s current share price of 57, the terms imply a cash transaction of $2.9 million.

Jipangu received 5.1 million shares of High River for its 10% direct holding in Buryatzoloto. Jipangu now owns 32.5% of High River.

High River, which plans to keep 51% of Buryatzoloto, is represented on the Russian company’s board of directors. Buryatzoloto’s chairman, Aleksandr Balabanov, is on the High River board, and a second Buryatzoloto director will stand for election at High River’s next annual meeting.

Suit against Niocan dismissed

The Quebec Superior Court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against Niocan (NIO-T) by an opponent of the company’s Oka niobium project.

The suit, brought by Andre Chaput, president of the Oka Citizens’ Committee, claimed “damage to reputation and related stress” arising from advertisements Niocan had taken out in a local newspaper. The advertisements contradicted information that had been posted on the Citizens’ Committee’s web site.

Witnesses at trial testified that the material on the web site claimed the project created risks to the local community but that the information had been faulty. Some errors of fact on the site had been corrected, but Chaput had refused to repudiate them.

The court assessed costs of $35,000 against the plaintiff.

Candor Ventures sets up shop

Two property transactions by Candor Ventures (CND-V) have brought the company into the mineral exploration business.

The first acquisition sees Candor take up a 45-claim property in Madoc Twp. in southern Ontario. The property, in the province’s eastern gold belt, was acquired from a private company for 200,000 shares.

In the second, Candor has taken up an option on a 32-claim property in Adrian Twp., about 45 km west of Thunder Bay. The company must pay $50,000 and issue 100,000 shares over the 3-year life of the option, following which it will hold a 100% interest, with the vendor retaining a 2% net smelter return royalty.

The proeprty, known as Twist Lake, has a series of untested electromagnetic conductors in an area underlain by felsic tuff-breccias — a potential host for volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits.