Western markets lose ground in shaky market

Vancouver — Canada’s junior exchange staggered through a lacklustre week of trading with no clear direction. When all was said and done, the TSX Venture Exchange composite index lost 4.99 points, or 0.45%, and closed the week ended Aug. 13 at 1025.43.

IBI was the leading resource trader, with 3.1 million shares changing hands. Despite that activity, the junior’s issue remained flat at 6. IBI owns and operates a vermiculite mine in the southeastern Uganda, near the Kenyan border. IBI has agreed to sell $2.6 million worth of its medium-grade vermiculite. Weekly shipments are begin sometime in August.

Caussa Capital closed at 2, down a penny with 2.7 million shares traded. The company plans to change its name to Rainbow Gold and roll back its shares on a 10:1 basis.

ECU Silver Mining remained flat at 5 with 1.3 million shares traded. The company inked a deal with Trustyard Capital for a private placement of $300,000. ECU Silver owns the Velardena silver mine in central Mexico, which has a resource of 2.4 million tonnes grading 269 grams silver and 2.8 grams gold per tonne.

Platinum Group Metals jumped 11 and closed the week at 90 on 1.3 million shares. The company released drill results from its Lac des les platinum and Palladium project, near Thunder Bay, Ont. Highlights include a 19.2-metre intercept that averaged 0.16 gram platinum and 0.83 gram palladium per tonne, as well as a 13.65-metre interval that averaged 0.24 gram platinum and 1.22 grams palladium.

American Bonanza Gold Mines found a penny and closed at 14, with just over 1 million shares crossing the floor. Late last month, the junior made an agreement with Mask Resources whereby Mask can acquire up to 49% of American Bonanza’s wholly owned Gold Bar and Pamlico projects, both of which are in Nevada. In return, Mask would be required to pay $100,000 in cash, issue 800,000 Mask shares, and fund exploration to the tune of $3.6 million over three years.

Diagem International Resources remained steady at 20 with 845,000 shares traded. Diagem’s bulk-testing program on its 108 property in Brazil on test pit no. 7 yielded 888 diamonds weighing 75.45 carats, with sizes of up to 2.05 carats. Results from test pits 8 and 9 are expected shortly.

Pan Asia Mining flatlined at 3 with 797,000 shares traded. The company is exploring for diamonds on four parcels of land in the southern part of the Shandong province in China. The junior is planning a work program that will consist of further soil sampling, high-resolution magnetic and resistivity surveys, and, if warranted, pitting, trenching and drilling of the most favourable sites.

Northern Dynasty Minerals lost 7 and closed at 94 with 736,000 shares traded. The company’s shares are also trading on the OTC Bulletin Board in the U.S. under the symbol ndmlf. The junior has kicked off a multi-rig drilling program at the Pebble gold-copper project in southwestern Alaska.

Belmont Resources lost 3 and closed at 5 on a volume of 732,000 shares. The company is developing a talc mine in the Republic of Slovakia, while, at the same time, searching for diamonds on its Tolmie property in north-central Ontario.