STOCK MARKETS — Market trading listless; gold price in

Despite a momentary recovery in the price of gold, indices on the Vancouver Stock Exchange continued to drift during the period ended Aug. 18.

From its July peak of about US$360 per oz., the yellow metal finally reversed its slide, bouncing off a low of US$334.50 to finish at the US$336 level.

The resource index finished the week down more than 10 points at 538.63 while the composite index slipped 6.49 points to close at 569.82.

On the Alberta Stock Exchange, the composite index managed to add 3.43 points to close at 832.78.

Local analysts see little hope for the market in the near term, in light of poor bullion markets, and are generally taking a wait-and-see attitude with juniors involved in the Lac de Gras diamond play.

Partners Dia Met Minerals and BHP Minerals Canada are the only companies which have reported a diamond find, although diamond giant De Beers is rumored to have made a discovery as well.

Dia Met managed to gain 75 cents during the period to finish at $16.50. Perhaps promoter Murray Pezim can generate some market excitement with his planned re-entry into the market. Pezim plans to sell his interest in the B.C. Lions football club and concentrate on running his 11.7% owned Prime Equities International. Thinly traded, Prime finished unchanged at the $3 level.

Planned exploration programs for two Prime-managed companies generated little excitement.

Adrian Resources started a drilling program on its Petaquilla project in Panama recently, sending the issue down a nickel to close at 76 cents. Adrian plans to test two large known copper porphyry deposits previously drilled in the late 1960s. Previous estimates put preliminary reserves at the two deposits at about 199 million tons grading 0.76% copper based on a 0.6% cutoff grade. The drilling will also test the deposits’ gold content which was not determined by previous work.

Prime-managed Tantalus Resources recently mobilized a field crew to the Treaty Creek project in the Eskay Creek area of northwestern British Columbia. Tantalus is earning a 51% interest in the project from Teuton Resources. The company plans an initial program of trenching to test a number of gold geochemical anomalies associated with Eskay Creek-type stratigraphy. Tantalus lost a penny to close at 16 cents while Teuton remained unchanged at the 20 cents level.

Chase Resources appeared to stabilize following its recent slide from the $2.30 level, bouncing off a low of $1.70 to close at $1.90. The company recently raised over $3 million from a public unit offering to fund work on its Taysan copper project in the Philippines. Chase management, as well as various Vancouver mining analysts, are at a loss to explain the drop in share price.

Texas Star took off after a long pause at the $1.30 level, climbing to a high of $1.75 before finishing up 36 cents at $1.60. A consortium of four companies including Texas Star recently completed a drilling program in the Crater of Diamonds state park in Arkansas although no results have been released. Texas Star plans to begin drilling on its claims outside the park shortly.

St. Philips Resources continued to gain ground from its recent 52-week low of $1, touching a high of $1.80 before closing up 27 cents at $1.50. St. Philips and 60% partner El Condor Resources plan to spend about $1 million on their South Kemess copper-gold property in north-central British Columbia this year and are negotiating to increase the budget. El Condor lost a dime to finish at $3.80.

Coral Gold drifted back to 48 cents for a loss of 11 cents on the week. Amax Gold is earning a 60% interest in Coral’s Robertson property in Nevada. Taking some of the speculative shine off Coral, it appears that Amax is concentrating its exploration efforts at the Robertson away from the property boundaries near Placer Dome’s huge Pipeline gold discovery to the southeast.