MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — WESTERN MARKETS — Argentina Gold among few winners in slack Vancouver market

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index lost 7.92 points, or 2%, to close at 384.69 over the holiday-shortened report period ended Oct. 13. The mining index edged down a notch, losing half a point, or 0.2%, to finish the week at 285.56.

Meanwhile, the combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange dropped by 5.46 points, or 0.3%, to close at 1,718.86.

Argentina Gold, busy at its Veladero project in San Juan province, jumped 20 cents on news that drill hole 79 had pulled a 114-metre intercept grading 1.49 grams gold and 55.2 grams silver per tonne.

The hole was collared on the Amable target, 110 metres northeast of hole 76, which last year returned 193 metres averaging 1.49 grams gold and 55.09 grams silver per tonne. Assay results from three other holes drilled on the Amable target, and from the remaining 130 metres of core from hole 79, are still pending. Currently, the company is drilling hole 83, which was collared 250 metres north of hole 76.

Cross Lake Minerals rose 6 cents to finish the week at 66 cents. The company has begun the third phase of 1998 drilling on the Sheraton-Timmins property near Timmins. The program will consist of about 2,000 metres of diamond drilling. Targets were defined by interpreting earlier drill results, and by conducting geophysical and geochemical surveys.

Alberta-listed partners Montello Resources and Redwood Resources announced that the Phoenix discovery on the Legend block in northeastern Alberta has been confirmed as a kimberlite. Drill crews are focusing on the Roc, Pegasus and Xena targets. Kennecott, which can earn a 60% interest in the property, plans to continue exploration through to December. Ownership is currently divided 70-30 between Montello and Redwood. Montello’s share price rose 3 cents to close at 43 cents, while Redwood’s gained 6 cents to finish at 70 cents.

Rubicon Minerals tacked on 6 cents to close at 50 cents. The company announced that its Toronto-listed joint-venture partner, Atna Resources, has elected to drop the Palmer base metal project in southeastern Alaska. The two companies recently completed a US$500,000 program of geological mapping, sampling, geophysics and drilling. Atna had the right to earn a half-interest in the property by spending US$2 million. Rubicon intends to continue exploring the property.

Mar-West Resources rose 4 cents to close at $2. The company has called a meeting so that shareholders can vote on a proposal to merge with Toronto-listed Glamis Gold.

Polymet Mining lost 13 cents to finish the week at $1.07. The company received more results from its 6,365-ft. program of reverse-circulation drilling at the Dunka Road polymetallic project in northeastern Minnesota. The best results were 240 ft. grading 0.48% copper, 0.14% nickel and 80.2 parts per million cobalt, as well as 0.084 gram gold, 0.101 gram platinum and 0.448 gram palladium per tonne.

Alberta-listed Gallery Resources has mobilized a second light-weight drill rig to its Harp Lake-2 project in northern Labrador. The rig will drill a series of short holes over the area containing small surface showings of massive sulphides and test coincident geophysical anomalies. Gallery Resources gained a penny to close at 38 cents.