TSX Venture gains ground, May 16-20

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index climbed towards one-year highs despite a drop in commodity prices, gaining 1%, or 6.46 points, to a 686.14-point close.

Spot gold fell 1.9%, or US$24.35, to US$1,249.13 per oz. gold.

Three-month London Metal Exchange copper contracts were down US$32 per tonne — or 0.7%, to US$4,622 per tonne — restricted by a firmer U.S. dollar and uncertainty over Chinese demand.

Kennady Diamonds was a front runner in the value-added category, gaining 54¢ to a $4.10-per-share close after announcing drill results at its Kennady North diamond project in the Northwest Territories. The company intercepted more kimberlite at its Faraday 1 and 3 targets during infill and exploration drilling, and suggested the bodies could be linked at depth. Results included 15.2 metres of kimberlite from 21.1 metres down hole at Faraday 1, and 35.3 metres of kimberlite from 96.2 metres down hole at Faraday 3.

Exploration drilling at its Hobbes anomaly, 150 metres south of its flagship Kelvin kimberlite, returned 3.4 metres of kimberlite from 37.4 metres down hole.

The company expects results from a 580-tonne bulk sample from Kelvin North, a 40-tonne sample from Kelvin South and a 23-tonne sample from Faraday 2 in this year’s third quarter.

Explorer Victoria Gold saw 13 million shares traded before closing up 6¢ at 47¢-per-share on news of metallurgical and heap-leach test work at its Shamrock gold zone, 2 km from the proposed infrastructure at its wholly owned Eagle Gold project in the Yukon. The company achieved 93% gold recovery during a 96-hour bottle-roll test on oxide material, along with up to 88% gold recovery after 43 days during leach tests. Metallurgical testing last year suggests that Shamrock and the adjacent Olive gold zone could act as satellite deposits to its more advanced Eagle gold project. The company is carrying out a 4,800-metre, 30-hole drill program on both targets, and expects to finish by June.

Shares of Chesapeake Gold gained 26¢ to $3.71 per share on no news. The company launched an incentive stock grant in March, whereby directors, officers and employees can buy up to 2.2 million shares at $2.15 per share over five years. The company is focused on its wholly owned Metates gold-silver project in Durango state, Mexico.

Nevada-focused Gold Standard Ventures gained 22¢ to $2.14 per share after announcing a US$13.4-million, 43,000-metre drill program on the Pinion and North Bullion gold deposits at its Railroad-Pinion project in Nevada’s Carlin gold trend. It will also test its North Dark Star oxide gold discovery.