STOCK MARKET — Composite index slides as juniors take beating on VSE — Int’l Tournigan

and Grayd Res. manage to buck downward trend among mining stocks

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index was down 46.5 points, or 5.06%, at 872.09 over the report period ended June 24. The mining index fell 63.78 points, or 7.37%, to finish at 802.17.

The combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange was off 38.11 points at 2,350.11.

After reporting that they had intersected as much as 52 metres averaging 2.75% copper from the first 10 holes drilled on the Corocoro property in Bolivia, 60-40 partners Reward Mining and George Resource were informed by their independent assayer that a mistake had been made in the assaying process. Trading was halted at the request of the companies pending results from re-Assaying. Reward was down 20 cents to $1.90 when it was halted; George closed down 17 cents at 83 cents.

The release of two further batches of drill results from the Sinter gold zone at the San Martin concession in Honduras indicated that the prospective bulk-Tonnage, heap-leach deposit thins to the northwest but remains strong to the south and east. Mar-West Resources, which owns an 80% interest in the project, fell 45 cents to $1.75, while Curion Ventures, which holes the balance, slipped 13 cents to 44 cents.

Pacific Rim Mining climbed $1.10 to $3.90. Toronto-listed Barrick Gold commenced a 10,000-Metre stepout drilling program on the joint-ventured Diablillos gold-silver property in Argentina. Pacific Rim, which is led by Catherine McLeod-Seltzer and Co., is also awaiting results from an 8-hole, widely spaced drill program on its wholly owned Cerro Blanco property.

Results from a third phase of drilling on Minefinders fully owned Dolores gold property in Mexico’s Chihuahua state continue to expand the main zone of mineralization. Hole 16 intersected 193.5 metres grading 1.23 grams gold and 25.17 grams silver per tonne, including 76.2 metres averaging 2.54 grams gold and 51.77 grams silver. Minefinders edged down 30 cents to $3.50.

International Tournigan was up 76 cents at $2.61. While the company waits for drilling and trenching results from its Diangounte West concession in Mali, a soil sampling program on the Riyadh concession in Ghana has defined a third large anomalous saprolite oxide zone extending for more than 2,500 metres in length and up to 500 metres in width.

Three diamond partners — Mountain Province Mining, Alberta-listed Glenmore Highlands and Camphor Ventures — reached a settlement with privately owned Inukshuk Capital and Canamera Geological. While terms are not being disclosed, Inukshuk will abandon its claim to a right of first refusal over the AK-CJ diamond properties in the Northwest Territories, and Canamera will not seek any claim regarding the termination of its operatorship of the properties. The operatorship of the AK-CJ claims will continue under Monopros, which can earn up to a 60% interest by funding exploration and a bulk-sampling program on one or more kimberlites, completing a feasibility study and funding the development of a mine. Mountain Province closed down 15 cents at $2.55, Glenmore was down 40 cents at $3.60, and Camphor finished at 95 cents, down 39 cents.

Grayd Resource closed up 35 cents at $1.40 after the first drill hole of a $1-Million exploration program on its Dry Creek property, southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, intersected 38 ft. of massive and semi-Massive sulphides at a depth of 134 to 172 ft. The hole is a 50-Metre stepout west of a 1976 hole, which intersected 35 ft. of massive sulphides grading 5.3% zinc, 2.2% lead and 0.3% copper, plus 0.04 oz. gold and 2.2 oz. silver.

Conquistador Mines was down 20 cents to $2.65 after releasing initial drill assays from the first holes of a planned 20,000-Metre surface and underground drilling program on the Marmato gold project in Colombia.