TSX Venture down, Sept. 27-Oct. 1 trading week

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index fell 10.25 points or 1.17% to finish the Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 trading week at 865.88. Spot gold rose US$10.80 per oz. or 0.62% to US$1,761 per ounce.

Shares of Baselode Energy rose 22¢ to 80¢. The junior announced it intersected a “wide zone of elevated radioactivity” in the first drill program at its Hook uranium project in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. Hole HK21-07, the first drilled into the Ackio target area at Hook, intersected 16.2 metres of continuous elevated radioactivity (>300 counts per second) starting at 133.8 metres, within a massive structurally controlled hydrothermal alteration envelope that exceeds 250 metres thickness. Baseload said the radioactive interval averaged 642 cps and included multiple intersections of >1,000 counts per second. The company is expanding the drill program from 2,500 to 3,500 metres with holes now ranging from 200 to 500 metres drill hole depth. “The widespread basement alteration we’ve intersected in HK21-07 reflects a large hydrothermal fluid system that could be fertile for high-grade uranium mineralization which is demonstrated with radioactivity >10,000 cps in the Akio area,” Cameron MacKay, projects manager, said in a news release. “We’re also excited to have intersected Athabasca sandstones outside the previously known basin margin. This provides us with exploration targets for discovering unconformity-style mineralization just 50 metres below surface at Ackio.”

Cornerstone Capital Resources gained 20¢ to $3.80. In mid-September the company announced assays from three drill holes from the Bramaderos gold and copper joint venture in southern Ecuador. Cornerstone has a 12.5% stake in the joint-venture with Sunstone Metals the project operator. Drillhole BMDD009 returned 185.3 metres grading 0.4 gram gold per tonne, 0.15% copper (0.64 gram gold-equivalent per tonne) from 116.8 metres; and drillhole BMDD010 cut 170.65 metres grading 0.46 gram gold per tonne and 0.15% copper (0.7 gram per tonne gold-equivalent) from 311.75 metres, including 69.6 metres of 0.65 gram gold per tonne and 0.2% copper (0.97 gram gold-equivalent per tonne). BMDD011 intersected 404.8 metres grading 0.32 gram gold per tonne and 0.09% copper (0.46 gram gold-equivalent per tonne) from surface, including 51.3 metres of 0.54 gram gold per tonne and 0.07% copper.

Conquest Resources was the most heavily traded stock and gained 1¢ to 13¢ per share. The company announced it has completed 17 holes into 32 geophysical targets on its Belfast-TeckMag project, 50 km east of Sudbury, Ontario. Bore hole EM surveys are underway on its volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) targets and the company intends to follow up on the survey results with more holes following the drilling of the balance of the remaining untested targets. The company will start drilling on the iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) targets in mid-October. “The targets have a similar gravity and magnetic signatures to the Olympic Dam deposit in Australia, which produces copper, uranium, silver and gold,” the junior explorer said in a September 27 press release.