Montreal Exchange Val d’Or active

The market turned downwards during the week ended April 23, with the market portfolio off by almost 18 points and the mining and minerals index in decline by 13.4 points. Daily trading volumes ranged between 3.7 million and 5.8 million shares. According to ME President Bruno Riverin, who was speaking at the ME annual meeting, his exchange, having updated its computer technology, is ready for a recovery in market activity. He said the ME was the only one of Canada’s three major exchanges to show a surplus of revenues over expenses in 1990. During the first quarter of this year, the average daily value of shares traded on the ME was $80 million compared with $61 million for all of 1990.

The most active mining stock during the week was Ressources Val d’Or, which dropped a penny to 1 cents on more than 950,000 shares. The junior is expecting regulatory approval soon for a share consolidation (15 old shares for one new share) and a name change to reflect the stock consolidation.

Tandem Resources has boosted its interest in North American Rare Metals to 24.2% through the purchase on the open market of 250,000 shares of the latter. Trading 6,400 shares, Tandem closed unchanged at 17 cents. North American Rare slipped 1 cents to 11 cents on a volume of 48,000.

A subsidiary of Armeno Resources of Vancouver will receive (subject to regulatory approval) additional funding in the amount of US$1.45 million which will be applied to the preproduction development costs and working capital for the San Bartolome gold-silver-lead-zinc mine project in Ecuador. Nissho Iwai Corp. of Japan, which owns the other half of the Armeno subsidiary, is putting up the money. A mill startup is scheduled for July. Armeno closed unchanged at 44 cents with 169,500 shares changing hands.

Canchrome Mines reported more encouraging results from its winter drilling program at its chromite property near Thetford Mines, Que. New assays from eight holes on the Reed-Belanger zone and another eight holes from four showings elsewhere on the property were received. Canchrome was off by 4 cents on the week to 80 cents on 85,600 shares.