MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — Western Markets — Steady as she goes, on Vancouver market

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index remained steady during the report period ended Aug. 24, losing only 0.71 of a point, or 0.2%, to close at 406.51. The mining index edged up 0.88 of a point, or 0.3%, to finish the week at 274.29.

Meanwhile, the combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange added 24.65 points, or 0.95%, to its value and closed at 2,617.14

Rubicon Minerals rocketed 28 cents to close at 65 cents on news of a new sulphide discovery on its Palmer base metal project near Haines, Alaska.

Hole 10 intersected 15 ft. of massive barite with stringer zinc mineralization that assayed 4.01% zinc, followed by a 9-ft. section that returned 2.29% copper. A follow-up hole cut 7.4 ft. of massive and semi-massive sulphides, with assays pending.

Winspear Resources released its long-awaited microdiamond analysis from the NW dyke on the Camsell Lake joint-venture property. The analysis determined that microdiamond counts were constant over the area sampled and increased slightly toward the northeast. Winspear, as the operator, holds a 67.76% interest in the property, Toronto-listed Aber Resources holds the remainder.

Winspear tacked on 33 cents to close the week at $3.08.

Great Basin Gold rose 47 cents to close at $2.55. The company completed a $6.3-million financing last month and is gearing up to start a 50-hole, 50,000-ft. drill program that will target two principal areas on its Ivanhoe property in Nevada.

Partners Expatriate Resources and Toronto-listed Atna Resources announced that preliminary work on massive sulphide ores from the Wolverine deposit in the Yukon indicate that metal-leaching processes provide the best opportunity to overcome the problem of high-selenium content. Expatriate holds a 60% slice of the Wolverine pie, while Atna holds the remaining 40%.

Expatriate closed at 51 cents, up 6 cents.

TNR Resources jumped a nickel to close at 12 cents. The company announced it is conducting discussions with several companies regarding the financing and possible joint-venturing of several of its projects in Argentina.

Francisco Gold closed at $8, up 25 cents. Drill results from the Sauzal gold project in Mexico’s Chihuahua state continue to increase the project’s gold resource. The company has now drilled a total of 188 holes and focused its efforts on expanding the oxide resource.

Canabrava Diamond and partner Paramount Ventures & Finance are on the verge of recovering alluvial diamonds from their Rio do Sono River property n Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. Canabrava rose 8 cents and closed at 88 cents, while Paramount lost a penny to finish at 47 cents.