MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — WESTERN MARKETS — Snap Lake drilling piques investors’ interest in Winspear

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index remained relatively unchanged over the holiday-shortened report period of June 24-29, slipping just one-fifth of a point to close at 532.24. The mining index finished up 3.44 points, or 0.9%, at 390.42. Meanwhile, the combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange was off by 1.41 points at 2,090.45.

Pending news on a summer drilling program, Winspear Resources reached a high of $2.04 in heavy trading before falling back to $1.77, for a gain of 68 cents. The company recently released the highest reported carat values (US$301.43 per carat) to date in the Northwest Territories from the 2.4-metre-thick Snap Lake kimberlite dyke on the Camsell Lake property.

Limited drilling shows potential dimensions of 800 metres along strike and 1,000 metres downdip. Winspear is increasing its interest in the project to 68.5% by spending $2.7 million on exploration in 1998. The balance is held by Aber Resources.

Redstar Resources has acquired an option from Tri-Valley on the Richardson gold property in central Alaska. The property has seen limited trenching and a follow-up 4-hole drilling program. Redstar can initially earn a 51% interest by spending US$6.3 million and making cash payments totalling US$700,000 over five years. A further 29% can be earned by completing a feasibility study. Redstar closed up 5 cents at 15 cents.

St. Jude Resources slipped 3 cents to $1.43 after announcing further diamond drill results from six holes on the Adoikrom gold prospect at the Hwini-Butre concession in Ghana. Highlights included 10 metres of 1.23 grams gold per tonne in hole 21, 5 metres of 4.39 grams in hole 23 and 15 metres of 2.65 grams in hole 26. In the meantime, drilling has resumed on the Father Brown zone, 300 metres southeast of Adoikrom.

Britannia Gold was halted at 29 cents, up 10 cents, pending an announcement.

The company recently completed an initial 800-metre drilling program on the Sabrina project in the Ancash district of north-central Peru. An area of strongly silicified ignimbrites with disseminated pyrite and arsenopyrite was found to be geochemically anomalous over a 1,000-metre length.

Geophysical anomalies further extend the zone, a significant portion of which is overlain by a thin cover of younger barren volcanics. Limited trenching yielded 110 metres averaging 0.6 gram gold. The joint-venture team of Cyprus Amax Minerals and Peru-based Buenaventura is earning a 51% interest in the 11,700-ha property from Britannia.

Cherry Lane Fashion Group was off 9 cents at 44 cents. The company has arranged a best-efforts brokered private placement with Goepel McDermid to place 3 million units at 60 cents each, for gross proceeds of $1.8 million.

Each unit will consist of one share and one 2-year warrant. Proceeds will be used to fund initial exploration programs on the Halley and Leoncocha properties in southern Peru.