MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS – WESTERN MARKETS — Mining index slips despite higher VSE composite

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index managed to edge up 0.49 of a point, or 0.1%, and close the week ended Feb. 2 at 419.22. The mining index did not fare as well, losing 7.12 points, or 2.3%, to finish the week at 303.27.

Meanwhile, the combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange jumped 19.35 points, or 1.03%, to end the week at 1,917.67.

Excellon Resources made its debut on the VSE’s most active list, soaring 33 cents to finish at 56 cents. Assays are pending for five holes drilled on the Platosa polymetallic skarn property in Mexico. American-listed Apex Silver stands to earn a 65% interest in the property. Drilling is targeting the areas below historic high-grade, low-tonnage workings.

Winspear Resources took a beating, losing 63 cents and closing at $3.02. The company released more microdiamond results from caustic fusion analysis performed on kimberlite drill core from the Camsell lake property in the Northwest Territories. The three largest diamonds recovered from a 100-tonne bulk sample were 0.23, 0.21 and 0.13 carat. Winspear has a 67% operating interest in the Camsell Lake property, with the remainder held by Toronto-listed Aber Resources.

Argentina Gold also took a hit, losing 40 cents to close at $5.25. Toronto-listed Barrick Gold extended its $5 cash takeover bid until Feb. 9. The British Columbia Securities Commission dissolved AG’s “poison pill,” stating that shareholders of AG must decide for themselves whether the price offered by Barrick is adequate. The junior has three reverse-circulation rigs operating at the Veladero property in San Juan province. In addition, a diamond drill rig is spinning at the Amable target, and another is being mobilized. AG has a 60% operating interest in the Veladero property, with Barrick holding the remainder.

Borneo Gold tacked on 5 cents to close at 20 cents. The company has signed definitive option agreements and begun exploration programs on three properties, Tolita, Toro and Lajitas, in the southern Maricunga region of Chile.

International Taurus Resources rose 3 cents to close at 30 cents. The company has joined in the staking rush around Nuinsco Resources’ Lac Rocher nickel discovery in Quebec. Taurus is looking to acquire about 100 units northeast of the discovery.

Minera Andes lost 10 cents and finished the week at 70 cents. The company has encountered high-grade gold and silver values in trench samples collected at the company’s El Pluma/Cerro Saavedra property in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province. A highlight of the trenching was sample T-22, which assayed 9.61 grams gold and 255.8 grams silver over 9 metres. The intersection included a 4-metre interval that assayed 18.6 grams gold and 498.8 grams silver.