TSX Venture Exchange February 28-March 6

Surging junior mining stocks propelled the TSX Venture Composite Index to test new highs over the Feb. 28-March 6 session, up 100.18 points or 4% at 2,643.51. Average daily trading volumes swelled to 89.6 million shares over the week.

The bulls dominated the period, with a whopping 155 junior exploration companies touching new 52-week highs, while just 18 explorers slumped to new annual lows.

Plexmar Resources was top trader for the week, gaining a nickel to close at 16.5 on volume of almost 17 million shares. Channel sampling of a vein on the company’s Bolsa del Diablo project in Peru returned up to 304 grams gold per tonne over 2 metres.

Shares of Cantex Mine Development shed 4.5 to close at 12 on volume of 13.1 million. Drilling on its Suwar nickel project in Yemen recently returned significant nickel and copper grades in massive to disseminated sulphides.

Red Lake, Ont.-area gold explorers Skyharbour Resources and Cypress Development traded 12.6 million to close at 20 per share and 10.8 million shares to end at 31.5, respectively, both gaining 9.5. With drilling wrapping up on the duo’s McKenzie Island project, the rig will be moved to the Broulan Reef project.

Coalcorp Mining continued as a strong trader, gaining four pennies to close at 65 on volume of 11.2 million shares. The company announced rights for five more coal projects in Colombia and environmental approval to boost production at its La Francia mine.

Shares of Tribute Minerals notched up 1.5 to close at 36.5 on volume of 10.2 million. The over-limit re-assay of high-grade zinc values from its Garnet Lake VMS project, in northwestern Ontario, returned 32.5% zinc over a half-metre, along with copper, gold, silver, indium and gallium values.

Frank Callaghan’s Northern Continental Resources plummeted 36%, or 15.5, to close the week at 27 per share on volume of almost 9.9 million. A program of geophysics is under way on the company’s Russell Lake uranium project in the Athabasca basin, under option to Roughrider Uranium.

High-grade silver intercepts from its Santa Juana mine, in Durango state, Mexico, propelled ECU Silver Mining to trade 8.7 million shares, gaining 44 to close at $1.39.

Shares of MetalCORP rallied almost 200% to $1.38 on volume of 7.6 million shares, following high-grade platinum drill results from the company’s North Rock project in northwestern Ontario. Drilling on its Hemlo, Ont.-area Big Lake project also returned significant copper, zinc, silver and gold mineralization.

News of a near-surface, 3.25-metre intercept of strongly-disseminated-to-massive-sulphides on Kodiak Exploration’s Caribou Lake project, 90 km southeast of Yellowknife, N.W.T., sent the company’s shares soaring over 170% to $3.25 per share on volume of 6.2 million. The first of 16 holes on the copper-nickel-PGM project cut visible chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and “possible” pentlandite in the layered mafic intrusion.

TSX-V greatest percentage change

TSX-V greatest value change

TSX-V most active issues

0.415