Vancouver Stock Exchange Still slow and sluggish

Patience has become a real (but unwelcome) virtue among Vancouver brokers these days. Placing bets as to exactly when this long-running (since Oct ’87) bear market will end has become a popular pastime. While some feel things may pick up after the holiday weekend, a few say the momentum just isn’t there and the market might not completely bottom out until mid- October. Whatever the odds on that burning question, it was generally agreed the past week in Vancouver was about as slow and sluggish as the one before.

At presstime the VSE Index was down .64 points at 982.02 with 162 advancers, 171 decliners and 355 issues unchanged. Among the more active issues was Don MacLeod’s NCA Minerals which moved ahead 7 cents to $1.20. The company is active in the southwestern states as is another busy trader, McConnell- Peel Resources, up 5 cents to 75 cents .

Adrian Resources (a Prime Capital company) was the most active issue over our report period, gaining 19 cents to 57 cents . The company reported the discovery of wide spread gold mineralization on its Iskut River property in northern British Columbia and the start of a drill program on its joint-ventured (with NDU Resources and Silverquest Resources) Hyland property in the Yukon.

Another busy issue was Magellan Resources, which gained 12 cents to $1.27. The company has a 750-ton- per-day heap leach operation in Utah where it is also exploring a potential underground mining project.

The reverse take-over of Madrona Resources by a computer software company accounted for its 67 cents jump to $1.40 while First Idaho Resources climbed 52 cents to $1.77 after reporting it had an option to purchase a 100% interest in a producing heap leach operation in Montana. The company is also looking at a number of other gold and silver properties in that state.

Consolidated Jalna Resources gained 5 cents to 45 cents after a recent financing to raise funds to drill the old Purdex property near Kenora, Ontario. Star One Resources moved ahead again this week; this time gaining 11 cents to $1.07 while Footwall Explorations dropped 9 cents to $1.05. War Eagle Mining continued its climb, gaining 18 cents to 75 cents as did Quartz Creek Gold Mines, up 31 cents to 95 cents .

There doesn’t seem to be much interest in the shares of Amca Resources since it was turned down on the lease renewal of its sole project, the Silver Cross property in Arizona. The bid price on this issue dropped a dime to 15 cents . Davidson Partners is reported to be a large shareholder in this problem-plagued company.