Junior exchange follows gold trend (January 26, 2004)

Vancouver — Canada’s junior exchange managed to recover after a dip in the gold price late in the week ended Jan. 16 dragged the market down. The S&P-TSX Venture Exchange composite index lost 0.12 of a point and closed the report period Jan. 14-20 at 1,795.26.

China Diamond lost 6 and finished the week at 37 with 14.7 million shares traded. The company, which changed its name from Pan Asia Mining, has a controlling interest in a Sino-foreign joint venture company in China’s Shandong province. The joint-venture company owns and operates the 701 Changma diamond mine.

Cantex Mine Development remained flat at 10 with 6.2 million shares traded. The junior holds an exclusive exploration licence covering 1,063 sq. km in northwestern Yemen, and in Nevada, it has a 51% stake in 10 gold exploration targets. As well, Cantex owns a 10.2% interest in a 6,043-sq.-km licence in western Greenland.

Spider Resources closed up 2, to 15, with 5.2 million shares traded. The junior holds a stake in the McFauld’s Lake property in the James Bay Lowlands of northeastern Ontario. Diagem International Resource acquired KWG Resources‘ 8% stake in the property in return for agreeing to spend $2 million on exploration. Drilling resumed last July, to follow up on encouraging sulphide mineralization originally cut by De Beers in 2002. The diamond explorer inadvertently hit base metal mineralization while drill-testing 13 diamond targets at the Spider 3 project. Diagem closed at 30, up 2 with 436,800 shares traded. KWG finished the week at 30, down 4 on a volume of 834,000 shares.

International Wayside Gold Mines ended the session up 2, to 32, with 4.3 million shares traded. The Frank Callaghan-led junior is advancing the Cariboo property, near Wells, B.C.

Trio Gold closed at 11, up 2 on a volume of 4.2 million shares. The company has completed a first phase of drilling on its wholly owned Rodeo Creek property, in the northern portion of Nevada’s Carlin trend. None of the holes returned gold values of interest. Undeterred, the company intends to begin phase two shortly.

American Bonanza Gold Mines found a penny and closed at 34, as 4 million shares crossed the floor. The junior is drilling underground at its Copperstone gold property in Arizona.

Rhonda closed at 22, up 4, with 2.9 million shares traded. The company and its joint-venture partner, De Beers Exploration, will soon begin drilling their Knife Lake project in Nunavut, though not before a ground gravity survey is conducted over the kimberlite. At least 10 holes are planned.

Jaguar Resources closed at 45, up 8, on a volume of 2.4 million shares. In December 2003, the company acquired the 100-sq.-km Mamoal alluvial gold property in northern Brazil. In return, Jaguar must pay the owner US$300,000 over three and a half years.

Stornoway Diamonds closed at $2.30, up 47, with 2.3 million shares changing hands. The junior, together with partners BHP Billiton and Shear Minerals, has released microdiamond results from the remaining five kimberlites discovered on the Churchill project and from two kimberlites found on the Churchill West project. Shear closed at 77, up 7, with 1 million shares traded.