MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — WESTERN MARKETS — Mining index loses steam as composite gains

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index gained 1.07 points, or 0.2%, to finish the week ended May 11 at 451.24. The mining index, meanwhile, lost 4.10 points, or 1.27%, to close at 317.49.

The combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange soared 58.77 points, or 2.54%, to close at 2,375.60

Exito Minerals rocketed $1.05 to close at $1.80. The former miner ventured into cyberspace and obtained an option to acquire the assets of Ottawa-based software company E-Virus.

International CanAlaska Resources jumped 7 cents to close at 31 cents. The junior plans to hop on to the internet band wagon and expand its business beyond mining exploration and development. CanAlaska released drill results from a 4-hole program at its Dougherty Lake project near Timmins, Ont. No significant mineralization was encountered. The company also acquired an option to earn a 100% interest in 272 claim units in the Kenora mining district of the same province. The ground is prospective for copper, nickel and platinum group elements.

Alberta-listed Minera Andes closed at 70 cents, up 15 cents. The company released results from the first six holes of a drill program on the Huevos Verdes target at its wholly owned El Pluma-Cerro Saavedra property in southern Argentina. All six holes encountered high-grade gold and silver mineralization, including 7 metres averaging 9.47 grams gold and 630.3 grams silver per tonne.

Polymet Mining closed at $2.53, up 18 cents. Positive metallurgical test results have induced the company to begin environmental studies at the NorthMet polymetallic deposit in Minnesota.

Major General Resources and its Toronto-listed partner, Cameco, await results from an 11-hole drill program on the Despinassy gold property in Quebec. Major General tacked on 7 cents to close at 31 cents.

Kalahari Resources closed at 31 cents, down a penny. The company announced the discovery of a kimberlite sill at the Black Lake diamond project in the Northwest Territories. The project is a joint venture between Toronto-listed SouthernEra Resources, Kennecott Canada Exploration and Island-Arc Resources. About 50 kg of kimberlite have been submitted for microdiamond analysis. Island-Arc closed at 32 cents up 1 cents.

Madison Enterprises dropped a nickel to close at $1.01. The company released results from 13 additional drill holes and announced it has outlined a significant expansion to the mineralized zones at the Mt. Kare gold deposit in Papua New Guinea. The company is also identifying targets outside of the defined resource.