STOCK MARKETS — Western markets in slump as resource index backtracks

Record trading levels in eastern markets proved to be of little help out west during the past week, as the Vancouver Stock Exchange resource and composite indexes both recorded losses.

The resource index slid almost 20 points during the report period ended July 12, to close at 1,330.74. The composite index followed suit by backtracking 6.51 points to finish at 836.28.

Investor interest in the Voisey Bay play of Labrador continues to shift toward preliminary exploration results and away from an emphasis on property deals.

Joint-venture partners Starcore Resources and Goldnev Resources remain farthest ahead of the pack. The companies plan to carry out drilling on their Niatak property, which is on an island about 28 miles east of Diamond Field’s discovery.

Drill permits are in place, and the companies plan a minimum of three holes to test an east-west-trending zone of copper-nickel-cobalt mineralization. The structure measures 1,000 by 300 ft.

Starcore traded as high as $1.75 before closing down 6 cents at $1.35, while Goldnev added a nickel at $2.10 after trading up to $2.55.

The companies may have been adversely effected by news that Murray Pezim remains in hospital and, due to ill health, has ceased to be a director or officer of his flagship company Prime Equities International. Pezim’s son, Michael, a Vancouver surgeon, has replaced him on Prime’s board, as well as the on the boards of the numerous junior companies Prime controls, including Goldnev.

Prime closed down 20 cents at $2, mirroring drops in a majority of the issues that make up the Prime Group of companies.

Lucero Resources edged up 9 cents to $2.15 on news that a strong, airborne electromagnetic anomaly has been identified by partner NDT Ventures on the Kingurutik Lake property in the Voisey Bay area. NDT slipped a nickel to finish at $3.85.

Airborne work by NDT over joint-venture ground held with Alberta-listed Celtic Minerals in Labrador failed to reveal any significant electromagnetic anomalies, prompting a plunge in Celtic’s share price to 80 cents for a loss of 70 cents on the week. NDT crews are conducting mapping and sampling on the ground.

Turning to diamond exploration, Tradewinds Resources slipped 14 cents at 59 cents after releasing preliminary results from a drill hole on its Drybones Bay kimberlite discovery near Yellowknife, N.W.T. Samples collected from intermittent depths within the hole returned six macrodiamonds.

News that Pacific Wildcat Resources has signed a joint-venture agreement to explore a gold project in Indonesia gave the issue a 25 cents boost to $1.25. The property hosts a geological resource of 13.2 million tonnes grading 0.061 oz. gold and 0.13 oz. silver per ton.

Joint-venture partners Bralorne-Pioneer Gold Mines and International Avino Mines both gained ground as development work continued on their Bralorne project in southwestern British Columbia. Drifting on the Peter vein, about 900 ft. below previous drifting (0.38 oz. gold over 3.4 ft. for 215 ft. of strike), has returned an average of 0.46 oz. gold per ton across a true width of 6 ft. and 100 ft. of strike.

Bralorne added 35 cents at $1.65, while Avino closed up 25 cents at $3.35.

AGC Americas Gold continues to surge ahead, trading as high as $5.50 before finishing up $1.25 at $4.30. The company will carry out extensive drilling on its JD gold property in the Toodoggone region of northern British Columbia.

The release of deep drilling results from the Red Chris porphyry copper-gold project in northwestern British Columbia did little to help American Bullion Minerals, which closed down 35 cents at $2.60.

The drilling included a 460-ft. intersection starting at a depth of about 1,400 ft. and averaging 0.77% copper and 0.023 oz. gold.

The deep drilling is part of a larger drilling program designed to expand and upgrade the current resource of 173 million tons grading 0.5% copper and 0.011 oz. gold within an open pit averaging 984 ft. in depth.