STOCK MARKETS — Western markets gain a little, lose a little — Voisey’s juniors head north; other Canadian explorers also fare well

The Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index dropped 23.95 points, or 3.8%, over the report period ended Dec. 9 to close at 607.40. The mining index continued its slide, falling 21.82 points, or 4.2%, to close at 493.54. The combined value of the Alberta Stock Exchange edged up 6.47 points to close at 2281.33.

Shares of Donner Minerals and Alberta-listed Northern Abitibi Mining rocketed to 82cents and 69cents, respectively, with the announcement that the companies intersected 15.7 metres of massive sulphide at their South Voisey’s Bay project.

Assay results from that hole, No. 96, are pending. The sulphides were pulled from a depth of 184.3 metres at the base of the olivine gabbro-troctolitic intrusion. Drilling continues to test basement gneisses for mineralized extensions. The hole was collared 200 metres southwest of hole 75, which intersected a 1.1-metre-long interval of massive sulphide grading 11.8% nickel and 9.7% copper.

The news had a trickle-down effect on a number of Donner’s partners at other projects in the region: Mandorin Goldfields jumped 5cents to close at 14cents; Major General Resources rose 5cents to close at 35cents; Curion Ventures closed up 6cents at 32cents; NDT Ventures edged up 2cents to close at 34cents; Latitude Minerals closed up 2cents at 19cents; and Cypress Minerals rose 2cents to close at 29cents.

Francisco Gold slid $1.95 to $9 following the release of results of an independent resource estimate for the deposit known as El Sauzal in southwestern Mexico. According to Mine Reserves Associates of Colorado, the deposit contains, at a cutoff grade of 0.5 gram gold per tonne, 47 million tonnes grading 2.3 grams gold per tonne, equivalent to 3.2 million contained ounces. El Sauzal remains open to the west, east, north and at depth. The company plans to continue infill and definition drilling in 1998.

Drilling by Barkhor Resources and Newen Enterprises continues to test a molybdenite-bearing breccia structure at the Jodi/Sly property in British Columbia. The structure covers an area measuring 200 metres by 1,200 metres, and remains open at depth. Assays from hole 6 returned 0.08% moly over 29 metres. Barkhor closed up 8cents to 22cents, whereas Newen jumped 12cents to 21cents.

Alberta-listed Anvil Resources was up 2cents to 38cents. The company acquired an option to earn a 50% interest in the Edwards property, owned by Cross Lake Minerals, in Ontario’s Larder Lake mining district. To date, Anvil has spent $150,734 exploring the property. Cross Lake edged up 1cents to close at $3.46.

Rupert Resources closed up 7cents to $1.88 on news of an increased diamond estimate at the Crown mine in South Africa. Tailings there are estimated to contain 396,000 carats, a 58% increase over an earlier estimate by De Beers Consolidated Mines.

Rupert can earn a 50% interest in the project by spending US$11.2 million.

Oliver Gold fell 11cents to close at 26cents following the release of a resource calculation for its Ipanema gold-copper prospect in southern Zimbabwe. With a cutoff grade of

1 gram per tonne, resources there stand at 708,021 tonnes grading 1.92 grams gold per tonne and 0.2% copper, equivalent to 43,811 ounces gold and 1.4 tonnes copper. An additional resource of 1.8 million tonnes grading 1.98 grams gold and 0.2% copper, equivalent to 116,391 contained ounces and 3.7 tonnes copper, was also identified. The deposit remains open to the southwest and at depth.