Vancouver Stock Exchange Kokanee helped by Sillivan-type’ find

Uncertainty about the direction of the economy is continuing to take its toll on equity markets and base metal prices. Unless some positive indicators appear soon, analysts predict a gloomy scenario of continuing volatility on equity markets and markedly lower profits for base metal producers. It appears the top of the worry list for investors is still the threat of a full-fledged recession which would entrench a bear market.

The outlook for gold prices is more bullish, however, and investors are maintaining interest in senior producers with healthy balance sheets. A gold price above the US$400 threshold is always good news for the Vancouver Stock Exchange which is still heavily weighted with issues involved in precious metal projects.

At noon today, Jan. 24, the VSE index was down 2.27 points to 702.91 in light trading, a decline of 4.98 points from a week ago.

Dayton Developments gained a nickel to $2.15 today after moving up nicely during the past week. The company is at the feasibility stage with a gold project in Chile.

The surprise closure of the Sullivan mine near Kimberley, B.C., didn’t affect the rise in the share price of Kokanee Explorations. The junior reported last week that it had intersected bedded sulphide bands and other favorable geologic markers within the Sullivan mine stratigraphic interval on its Vine property near Cranbrook. The issue jumped a further 75 cents to reach $2.70 for the week ended Jan. 23.

White Knight Resources, a company headed by geologist John Leask, moved up 11 cents to reach 61 cents . White Knight is earning a 50% interest in a nearby property (from Goldpac Investments) which is reported to have the northwest extension of the Vine vein. Incidentally, Leask is also gearing up to drill another deep hole, this time to a vertical depth of about 4,400 ft., to test a new target at the Sullivan time horizon on this property.

Consolidated Goldwest Resources gained 18 cents to 41 cents . Earlier this month, the Prime group company announced results from an early stage work program on the Pass Lake and Pup projects in the Galore Creek area of northwestern British Columbia. Work on the Pass Lake property is reported to have encountered a significant gold showing and nearby high-grade gold-silver-copper-zinc showing. The company is earning a 51% interest in this property from Pass Lake Resources.

Seven Mile High Group, the object of considerable short selling, continues to defy the nay-sayers and hold in the $2.50-2.75 range. Short sellers are betting that the discrepancy in opinion between the company and Inco Gold over the prospects of the Vault gold property points to a drop in the stock. The reported short position on Jan. 19 was 241,100 shares.

A drilling program on the Springpole gold project in northern Ontario is holding investor interest in Akiko-Lori Gold Resources. The issue traded just under 300,000 shares this week rising to $2.40 from $2. The company and a unit of Noranda are jointly earning up to 70% of the project. Noranda is expected to release a progress report on the drilling shortly.