Western markets remain sluggish

Vancouver — Canada’s junior bourse edged up slightly over the holiday-shortened trading week ended Sept 3. The TSX Venture Exchange composite index added 0.73 of a point, or 0.07% of its value, to close at 1015.06.

ECU Silver Mining was the week’s volume leader, with 2.4 million shares traded. The company added 1 to its value and closed at 6. ECU recently 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.

Seahawk Minerals, which traded 1.6 million shares at 1, remains in default on its debentures. The total amount currently outstanding, including unpaid interest and penalties, is $2.3 million. Seahawk is unable to meet either its principal or interest obligations and is currently in negotiations with its debenture-holders.

Breckenridge Resources traded 1.4 million shares and remained flat at 1. The cash-strapped junior holds a 30% joint-venture interest in the Warburton Bay diamond project in the Northwest Territories. The company also holds a small interest in the Ana gold-copper prospect in the Yukon.

Donner Minerals continued to lose ground following the release of the assay results from hole 5 into the South Voisey’s Bay nickel sulphide property in Labrador. Donner ended the week down 11 to 13 on just over 1.4 million shares. Toronto-listed Falconbridge, which can earn a 50% stake in the property, has been drilling the ground. The latest hole cut a high value of 0.73% nickel and 0.23% copper over 0.25 metre at a down-hole depth of 253.3 metres. The major is reviewing and interpreting all of the results to date, and drilling on the project has been suspended. Donner holds a 76.69% stake; Cypress Development has 11.36%; NDT Ventures holds 6.55%; and UC Resources has 5.4%.

Platinum Group Metals gained 14 and closed at 99, with 1.4 million shares crossing the floor. The junior launched a 10,000-metre drill program over the Agnew Lake platinum-group-element property, near Sudbury, Ont. The property is under option to Anglo American Platinum and Pacific North West Capital. The former can earn up to a 60% stake in the property by arranging project financing and bringing it into commercial production.

American Bonanza Gold Mining tacked on a penny and closed at 14 on a volume of 1.3 million shares. The junior intends to advance the Copperstone gold project in Arizona.

Shares in Starfield Resources soared 7 to close 50 on a volume of 902,000 shares. The company reported that hole 132, drilled at the Ferguson Lake nickel-copper-platinum-palladium project, cut three zones of massive sulphides ranging in thickness from 5.5 to 13.7 metres. Assay results are pending.

Gallery Resources closed at 13, up a penny on 790,000 shares. The company is in the midst of a 30-hole, 3,000-metre diamond drill program on its Katie volcanogenic massive sulphide property in central Newfoundland.