Vancouver Stock Exchange Seasonal rally cheers investors

The Vancouver Stock Exchange staged a healthy rally over the period ended Dec. 24, with the Resource Index up over 44 points at 592.42 and the Composite Index up 13.49 at 519.92. Gold also rallied over the period, adding US$8 per oz. to finish at the US$385 level.

Chase Resources bounced off a low of $2.50, rebounding to $3.45. Short sellers and what is rumored to be Pacific Rim buyers have been playing a game of push-me-pull- you with the stock over the past few weeks. In the previous period, a short squeeze pushed the stock to a high of $8. The game may not be over since the short position in the stock is reported to remain above 200,000 shares.

Taseko Resources has been attempting to break through the $1.50 level, having taken a second run at it this week from the $1 level closing at $1.45. The issue recently attracted investor attention when former management of Continental Gold took down a large private placement. The placement was later followed by open market purchases of the stock by the three Continental individuals totalling 284,400 shares at a price of $1.15. The company is attempting to regain control of its Fish Lake copper-gold property in British Columbia from Cominco which holds an 80% option.

The announcement that the first hole of a program on the York Harbour property in Newfoundland has intersected 15 ft. of massive sulphides with visual reports of high zinc did not seem to help Cumberland Resources which remained stuck at the 50 cents level.

Toltec Resources and Consolidated Rhodes remained quiet over the period at the $1.30 level and the $1.10 level respectively. The companies are gearing up for a drilling program in the new year on their Gold Basin property in Arizona.

Other companies drilling in the new year include Thios Resources and Eurus Resources on their Rock and Roll property in the Iskut River area of northwestern British Columbia. Thios gained 3 cents over the period, finishing at 52 cents while Eurus lost 4 cents to close at $1.14. Channel sampling on the property has returned some high-grade zinc-lead- copper-gold-silver values.

Sutton Resources did very well over the period with a jump of over $1 to the $4.75 level. Sutton is preparing for a drilling program on its Kabanga nickel property in Tanzania. The company is also negotiating with its partner, Romanex, to increase its interest to 100% from 55% of Romanex’s right to the property.

Pacific Sentinel Gold is planning a drilling program for the new year on its 50% owned Golden West property in Arizona. The project is a joint venture with PIC Prospectors International and Almaden Resources which equally own the balance. The issues remained virtually unchanged over the period; Pacific Sentinel at the $4 level, PIC at the $1.30 level, and Almaden at $1.15.

The preferred shares of Eastmaque Gold Mines hit a new all- time low this week at $1. The company is in a dispute with its major shareholder, Ventures Trident, over a special conversion of the shares. The preferred have a par value of $3.75 and carry a dividend of 30 cents per year which has not paid since their issue. Accrued dividends currently total over $1 per share.