Vancouver Stock Exchange Trading active on west coast

Resource issues, benefiting from gold prices pushed higher by fears of inflation and the uncertainty of events in the Persian Gulf, continue to fuel active trading on the Vancouver market.

MacMillan Energy, which closed up 25 cents to $2.50 on 109,500 shares, has reported impressive drill results from a gold ore zone at the Mishi project in northwestern Ontario, southeast of Hemlo. The company says higher grade sections, with assays up to 0.65 oz gold per ton, have been intersected in some holes. The company also reports that Toronto- listed Granges Exploration, having spent $3 million on exploration, will exercise its option to acquire a 50% interest in the project.

Making a bid for 21% of Bolero Resources is CanDorado Mines, the offer being made on the basis of one CanDorado share for six Bolero shares. Bolero, which holds various mineral properties in the western United States in joint venture with Queenstake Resources, moved up 10 cents to 60 cents on a volume of 46,500. CanDorado, which does not currently own any Bolero securities, closed up 20 cents to $3.70 on 30,500 shares.

Reporting results from the first quarter of production from the Sumich mine in Nevada was New Beginnings Resources, which has a 50% interest in the project. New Beginnings’ joint-venture partner and the project operator is Nevada Goldfields. Production totals of 8,441 oz gold and 13,080 oz silver were attained during the quarter from an average throughput of 555 tons per day and an average mill head grade of 0.21 oz.

Trading 77,700 shares, New Beginnings gained 10 cents to $1.25.

Mikado Resources, which closed up 75 cents to $2.90 on 299,300 shares, has announced results from a drill hole at the Wagner Abbott project which intersected 9.48 oz silver, 8.8% lead and 16.2% zinc between 55.4 ft and 62 ft, and 14 oz silver, 14.3% lead and 21.6% zinc between 62 ft and 68.8 ft. Another hole, for which assays are awaited, intersected 24 ft of well mineralized material, the company reports.

Additional results from the Al project, part of Energex Minerals’ 55-sq-mi holdings in the Toodoggone gold region of British Columbia, have been announced by the company, whose shares were unchanged at $1.54 on a volume of 311,900. Energex hopes to develop up to 400,000 tons of open pittable reserves from the Bonanza deposit drilling program.

United Mining, which moved up 20 cents to $1.25 with 25,600 shares changing hands, reports completion of the first-phase sampling program at the Mina Laurani property in Bolivia, located between La Paz and Oruro. The program, the company says, consisted of 286 large samples only of the mineralized wall rock to determine the potential for bulk mining of heap-leach reserves. The second phase of the exploration program consists of wide spread shallow drilling.