MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — Western markets sluggish as mining index dips — South Voisey’s Bay partners drop in impatient market; Winspear up on good valuations

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index gained 1.54 points, or 0.3%, to close at 532.44 over the report period ended June 23. The mining index edged down 0.99 of a point, or a quarter of a percentage point, to close at 386.98. Meanwhile, the combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange nudged down 1.26 points, or 0.06%, to close at 2,091.86.

Winspear Resource topped the charts, gaining 47 cents, or 75%, to close at $1.09. The company released results of diamond valuations from the NW dyke on its Camsell Lake property in the Northwest Territories. Three independent valuations performed in Antwerp, Belgium, pegged the average value of a 226.72-carat package of diamonds at US$301.43 per carat. At 1.14 carats recovered per tonne, the average value per dry tonne of kimberlite works out to US$343.63.

Hymex Diamonds also took a wild ride on the VSE’s most active list, gaining 35 cents to close at 78 cents. The company acquired a brokered placement of 20 million units at 30 cents each. Each unit consists of one share and one warrant exerciseable at 35 cents during the first year and 40 cents during the second. The net proceeds of the financing will be used to buy the Milo alluvial diamond project in Guinea.

Drill results are awaited from the South Voisey’s Bay joint venture in Labrador, and, for the market, no news is bad news. Donner Minerals lost 15 cents to close at $1. Cypress Minerals and Alberta-listed Northern Abitibi Mining followed suit, losing 4 cents and 10 cents, respectively, to close at 22 cents and 40 cents.

Abacus Minerals also lost a dime, closing at 35 cents. Recent drilling encountered further high-grade intercepts at the company’s La Manchuria property in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. All holes continue to show highly anomalous gold and silver values. The second-stage drill hole results showed variable mineralization, with individual assays returning up to 159.98 grams gold per tonne over 1.3 metres and 5,281.8 grams silver over 0.61 metre.

St. Jude Resources rose to $1.45, as the market anticipated more drill results from the Father Brown gold discovery in Ghana, West Africa.

Energold Mining dropped 8 cents to close at 55 cents. The company released initial sampling results from the Longyear property in the Dominican Republic. Gold assays range from less than 5 parts per billion to 10.8 grams gold. In total, 139 samples were taken. The main soil anomaly covers an area of about 550 by 800 metres.

Stirrup Creek Gold lost 6 cents and closed at 25 cents. The company is gearing up for its 1998 exploration program at the Watson Bar property, 30 km east of Clinton, B.C. The property is host to a potential low-sulphidation epithermal gold system.

Ascot Resources dropped 8 cents to close at 70 cents. Four separate kimberlites have been identified on the northern portion of its joint-venture property on Victoria Island, N.W.T. The pipes are called Phalarope, Golden Plover, Longspur and Snowy Owl. Partner Major General Resources gained 1 cents to close at 41 cents. De Beers subsidiary Monopros can earn a 51% interest in the property by spending $2 million on exploration.