Venture exchange outpaces senior board

The TSX Venture Composite Index closed the Jan. 31-Feb. 6 trading week at 2,606.49, up 58.77 points or 2.3%, continuing its march to new highs on an adjusted basis. Over the past year, the junior index, up 43%, has outperformed the TSX senior board, up 29%. Average daily trading volumes also rose over the session, touching a more than 4-year high of 94.3 million shares.

Illustrating the ongoing bullish resource market nicely, 161 junior explorers rose to new 52-week highs over the week, while just seven sank to new annual lows.

The week’s volume leader was Stellar Pacific Ventures, trading almost 18.1 million shares and gaining 16, or 119%, to close at 29.5. The company announced its acquisition of a strategic Opinaca claim group located adjacent to Virginia Gold‘s lonore project in the James Bay region of Quebec. Investor interest in the area increased following Goldcorp‘s announcement in December 2005 that it planned to acquire Virginia. Stellar also recently closed a small financing and is resuming drilling on its Vassan gold project near Val d’Or.

Yukon Zinc remained among the week’s top traders, gaining 38%, or 18, to close at 65 on volume of 17.2 million shares. Strong zinc prices, touching US$1.08 per lb., spurred the rally in the prospective miner, which recently locked down a financing agreement to develop its Wolverine zinc-copper-lead deposit in the eastern Yukon.

Market anticipation pushed NFX Gold to trade 10.7 million shares, gaining 79% or 52, to close at $1.18. Drill results from its Larder Lake project, in northeastern Ontario, were received by the company and partner Maximus Ventures indicating generally low-grade gold values in 11 holes on the Barber Larder zone.

Alberta Star Development traded almost 8.9 million shares and posted a gain of 52, or 61%, closing at $1.37. Having recently signed a co-operation agreement with First Nations groups covering its Great Bear Lake-region projects in the Northwest Territories, the company has received permits to drill at its Contact Lake IOCG-silver-uranium project near Port Radium, N.W.T.

Shares of Simberi Gold traded up a penny, closing at 25 on volume of almost 8.5 million shares. In addition to its projects in Western Australia, the company is aiming to close an agreement to acquire the remaining interest in private company New Congo Resources Development. New Congo holds a 51% interest in the Kakanda copper-cobalt projects in the copper belt of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Wawa, Ont.-area diamond explorer Dianor Resources saw over 7.6 million shares change hands, trading up 52% or 48 to close at $1.41 per share. Recent caustic fusion analysis from a fourth drill hole on the Leadbetter project delivered an abundant diamond count, albeit mostly micros. The company also recently arranged an $8-million financing.

Following a significant slash to its gold operation costs, Century Mining gained 13 to close at 61 per share on volume of 7.3 million. The company saw fourth-quarter production costs at its Sigma-Lamaque mine, at Val d’Or, Que., drop by US$81 to US$385 per oz.

Shares of Aurcana more than doubled on the week, up 119% or 15.5, to close at 28.5 on 7.1 million shares.