Montreal Exchange Active trading week

The best 1-day volume — 14 million shares — recorded this year couldn’t halt the decline in the general market index during the holiday-shortened week ended Oct. 9. The market portfolio was off by 24.5 points. The mining and minerals index fared even worse, dropping by almost 52 points. Pre- Thanksgiving weekend trading activity, ranging between 9.9 million and 14 million shares, didn’t hold up following the holiday, with the Oct. 9 volume dropping to 4.3 million shares. Among the week’s volume leaders was Armistice Resources, which gained 4 cents to 21 cents on 241,000 shares. Armistice, exploring gold property at Virginiatown, Ont., adjacent to the old Kerr mine, recently announced it is negotiating with a group of private investors to raise money for additional underground exploration work.

At Timmins, American Reserve Mining says it has almost gained access to the 6025 level of the old Paymaster gold mine. The mine workings are being dewatered to allow an underground exploration program to be undertaken. Trading 44,000 shares, American closed unchanged at 50 cents.

Lyon Lake Mines says a drilling program has been started up at the Beta Vargas gold prospect in Costa Rica. The company, which is earning a 50% interest in the property, is hoping to be able to boost reserves beyond the 6.7 million tonnes of low-grade mineralization already identified. Lyon Lake, trading 28,500 shares, gained 2 cents to 22 cents. In British Columbia, Lyon Lake reports it is set to become operator of the Mosquito project at the first of November.

Continuing to benefit from the gold produced from its bulk- sampling program at the Duquesne gold mine project, north of Rouyn- Noranda, Que., is Radisson Mining Resources. As of mid- September, the company had recovered 6,360 oz. Sampling continues. Radisson climbed 4 cents to 20 cents on a volume of 49,000 shares.

Continuing its active trading was Ressources Val d’Or, which has struck a financing-partnership deal with a private company to acquire full ownership of the Vendome zinc property north of the city of Val d’Or, Que. Junior company Val d’Or closed unchanged at 4 cents on 233,000 shares.