STOCK MARKETS — VSE feeds off Indonesian plays

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index was down slightly over the report period ended March 18, losing 21.48 points to close at 1,325.7. The resource index was off 54.5 points to finish at 2,463.98.

The Alberta exchange lost 76.59 points to end the week at 2,932.95.

Alberta-listed South Pacific Resources posted a 70 cents gain over the week to close at $4.65. The company’s shares jumped 29% on March 13 following the release of high-grade diamond drill results from the Masupa Ria project in Indonesia. A 20-metre intersection graded 130.77 grams gold per tonne, though the overall result may have been skewed by several smaller, high-grade intercepts, including 2 metres of 1,162.96 grams, 2 metres of 95.83 grams and 2 metres of 12.5 grams.

At the request of the Alberta Stock Exchange, South Pacific issued a break-down of each 2-metre-long intersection from all 74 metres of the hole.

Aside from the high-grade intercepts, values of less than one gram were returned. According to the company, the results were caused not by the nugget effect but by the irregular distribution of flakes or blebs.

Calgary-based Hixon Gold Resources had another good week, gaining $1.55 to close at $11.30. Shares of the company gained $1.05 during the previous report period. Hixon is awaiting results from 22 new trenches at its Stenpad gold property in Ghana, West Africa.

Toronto-listed Golden Rule Resources can earn a 50% interest in Stenpad, now wholly owned by Hixon, by paying 200% of exploration costs to date.

Francisco Gold took yet another jump, gaining $3.40 over the week to close at $34. Francisco has been riding high since Feb. 28, when the company announced drill results from its Sauzal gold property in Mexico’s Chihuahua state.

Francisco is currently raising $29.5 million in a private placement in order to fund exploration of 200,000 acres surrounding Sauzal.

Diamond hunter Cypango Ventures was up 36 cents to finish at $2.01 on news that it had intersected kimberlite at the Yamba Lake property in the Lac de Gras area of the Northwest Territories. Cypango can acquire 51% of Yamba Lake from Mill City Gold Mining and Tanqueray Resources by spending $5 million on exploration and issuing 300,000 shares by Oct. 31, 1999. Drilling continues.

St. Jude Resources gained $1 to close at $5.50. The junior has been up since it reported trench results from its Seikrom target on the Hwini-Butre concession in Ghana. Based on those results, two Vancouver mining analysts upgraded the company’s 3-month target price to $10. Channel samples from the prospect returned values as high as 7.6 grams gold over 115 metres.

After posting a gain of $1.60 in the previous week, Weda Bay Minerals lost 20 cents to close at $3.90, with more than 2 million shares changing hands. The value of the shares of Weda Bay, which is exploring for nickel and cobalt prospects on Halmahera Island in Indonesia, has increased 354% this year.

Most of that increase was achieved in the past two weeks, though the company’s last press release is dated on Feb. 17.

Ballad Enterprises recently announced an agreement to acquire the Peruvian subsidiary of TVX Gold. The deal includes a full interest in 35 properties totalling 31,100 ha, as well as other TVX assets in Peru. Ballad lost 45 cents to finish the report period at $4.85.

Etruscan Enterprises was down 40 cents to $7.70 following a jump of $2 in the previous week. Also down were Farallon Resources, off 40 cents to $13.60, Madison Enterprises, down 50 cents to $4.85, and diamond explorer Winspear Resources, which lost 45 cents to close at $3.56.