STOCK MARKETS — Investor confidence pushes Pine Channel to

Trading on western markets slowed somewhat during the week ended Apr. 13, with the Vancouver Stock Exchange resource index posting an 8.83-point loss to the 931 level, while the composite index closed up more than 18 points at 840.26.

A large ground position in Saskatchewan and a cornucopia of geophysical “bull’s-eye”targets appear to be enough to prompt investors to continue to push shares of Consolidated Pine Channel Gold into the stratosphere. The issue hit a high of $5.63 before closing up 53 cents at $5.38. The company recently announced it had arranged a brokered private placement through First Marathon Securities of 500,000 units at $4.12 each for total proceeds of more than $2 million.

Sutton Resources resumed trading after a company-requested halt, hitting a 52-week high of $19.75 before pulling back to $18.75. The company is negotiating for a gold project outside of North America. Details of the property will remain confidential until a legal dispute over ownership of the claims in question has been resolved.

Rutherford Ventures has been resurrected by a group including Robert Friedland. Renamed Diamond Fields Resources, the company recently completed a brokered private placement of two million units at $2.85 each and plans to acquire three diamond leases in Arkansas, as well as a 100% interest in Diamond Mining Company of America, one of four companies involved in a joint venture testing and evaluating the famous Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

Diamond Fields has also finalized an agreement to acquire 60% of a private Namibian company which controls sea diamond concessions in Namibia. Diamond Fields managed to touch a high of $4 after re-listing before closing at $3.50. Friedland’s Venezuelan Goldfields was halted during the period along with rival company International Kengate Resources pending announcements. The two companies are currently in dispute over the ownership of the coveted Oro Uno concession in the Kilometre 88 region of Venezuela. Venezuelan last traded at $12.38, up 88 cents, while Kengate was halted at $1.80 for a gain of 40 cents on the week.

New Canamin Resources gained 20 cents to close at $1.65. The company released results from drilling around its new East zone discovery on the Huckleberry property near Kemano, B.C., with the best hole returning 340 ft. grading 0.96% copper. The new zone remains open in all directions and an additional 10,000 ft. of drilling is planned to further test the extent of the mineralization.

Drilling is under way on the Banamichi project in Mexico under a joint venture with Toscana Resources, Vincent Resources and Cobriza Resources. The companies are testing the depth extent of wide-spread oxide copper mineralization identified on surface. Toscana, which also holds a large ground position in the Humpy Lake region of the Northwest Territories, gained 13 cents to close at 53 cents.

Eurus Resource lost ground following the release of preliminary reserve estimates for the La Conductora zone on the Albino concession in the Kilometre 88 region of Venezuela.

Eurus, which is earning a 50% interest in the property from Crystallex International, estimates the preliminary geological resource at about 46,000 tonnes grading 22 grams gold per tonne.

The zone remains open to depth below 50 metres as well as on strike and additional drilling is planned. Eurus finished down 37 cents to close at $1.45 while Crystallex lost 25 cents to finish at $5.63.

Alberta-listed Takla Star Resources took a hit, losing 50 cents to close at $1.50. The company recently completed a private placement of one million units at 81 cents each and plans to use a portion of the funds for initial evaluations of the company’s diamond-prospective ground in Alberta. Takla’s primary intention is to negotiate joint venture agreements on its various permit blocks in the province.