Junior board holds its ground

TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE

An uptick in the gold price by about 1% to US$429 per oz. coupled with stronger copper helped keep the S&P-TSX Venture Exchange Composite Index level during the report period June 7-13; it closed at 1675.85. An average of 36.3 million shares traded daily on the junior board over the session.

Still, only a muted 24 companies managed to rise to new 52-week highs, compared with 108 Venture Exchange-listed explorers touching new annual lows.

Top trader for the week was Tournigan Gold, which saw 6.8 million shares change hands as the stock gained 4.5 to close at 42.4. The junior added three advanced uranium properties in the eastern Slovak Republic. Underground mining was carried out on two of the deposits in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, along with extensive drilling and metallurgical tests. The projects also hold significant potential for molybdenum. In addition, Tournigan is advancing the Kremnica gold deposit in Slovakia and has started drilling in an attempt to upgrade resources calculated in its 2004 preliminary assessment.

Birch Mountain Resources, which is exploring for industrial minerals in northeastern Alberta, traded 3 million shares to grab second spot among volume leaders. The company gained 6 to finish at $2.91. Birch Mountain’s chief asset is the Hammerstone limestone project, north of Fort McMurray, which has a proven and probable reserve of 1.2 billion tonnes. The deposit, near the booming oil sands developments, is suitable for use as construction aggregate, cement and quicklime. The company also recently secured a listing on the American Stock Exchange.

Third most active was Entre Gold, which traded 2.8 million shares and closed at $1.90. Investors noticed the results of partner Ivanhoe Mines‘ deep drilling on the Copper Flats portion of the Shivee Tolgoi property in Mongolia. Results, including 608 metres grading 3.2% copper, including a high-grade section of 322 metres averaging 4.6% copper and 1.1 grams gold per tonne, suggest that the extension of the Hugo North zone is well-mineralized. Ivanhoe, which can earn up to an 80% stake, has boosted the number of deep-drill rigs active on Entre’s ground.

North American Tungsten made significant gains, trading 2.8 million shares and adding 37 to close at $1.57. The company reached a production decision on its Cantung mine and has resumed operations there. Production is anticipated by August, and offtake aggreements were recently negotiated.

Pine Valley Mining, which produces coal in northeastern British Columbia, shed 35 per share to close at $3.90 on a volume of 135,000 shares. The company produced 383,000 tonnes of PCI coal in fiscal 2005. Production began last August, despite insufficient rail service.

Shares in Cardero Resource slipped 30 as 208,000 shares crossed the floor. The company recently acquired an iron sands project in southern Peru. The magnetite-bearing sands are in an active dune field and basin, close to the company’s Pampa de Pongo iron deposit and the large Marcona iron mine.