TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE AUG. 12-18

The period of Aug. 12-18 was another bearish one for the S&P-TSX Venture Composite Index. By the end of the period the exchange had lost another 91.71 points, bringing the cumulative loss from July 1 to 712.43 points. Over the recent sessions trading volumes were less than stellar, averaging 55.1 million.

But the surest sign of the times comes in comparing new 52-week highs and lows. A staggering 450 juniors fell to new lows over the week while only one company — Stroud Resources — managed a new high. Stroud climbed 4 to 17 on no news.

Top trader status went to Largo Resources. The company released a positive feasibility study for its Maracas vanadium-platinum group metals project in Bahia, Brazil, which found that a capital investment of US$270.6 million could enable milling of 13.1 million tonnes of ore grading 1.34% VO5 to produce 4,431 tonnes of vanadium annually. Mine life stands at 23 years, with payback achieved in the first two years. The news prompted 12.4 million Largo shares to trade hands but the company’s share price fell 19 to 51.

Word that Gold Hawk Resources received the first insurance payment against the ground displacement at its Coricancha mine lifted the junior 3 over the session to 9. Ground movement caused by a third-party irrigation system at the gold-silver-lead- zinc mine in Peru forced the company to halt operations in May; the mine will remain on standby until the second quarter of 2009. The company is to receive US$14.5 million in insurance coverage.

Western Potash has been feeling the full force of the bear market: this week’s 15 loss brought its share price to 88, down from $2.15 in mid-June. The junior is drilling its third hole into the Russel-Miniota potash project in Manitoba. The first two holes confirmed the presence of potash mineralization within the same formation as is being mined at the nearby Rocanville mine, owned by Potash Corp of Saskatchewan.

At the end of the previous period Hathor Exploration tabled new drill results that expanded

the Roughrider uranium zone in Saskatchewan. Over the following week the junior gained 24 to close at $3.19.

Some companies managed to climb without releasing any news. Clifton Star Resources posted an 81 gain over the session, closing at $2.91. The company is exploring five properties in Quebec and one in northwestern Ontario, all of which are historic producers. Rocky Mountain

Resources, Chesapeake Gold, and Rainy River Resources all also gained considerably on no news.

However, the combination of no news and a bear market certainly dragged many other juniors down. Fancamp Exploration lost 66 to close at $1.22, Keegan Resources fell 66 to $2.09, Azimut Exploration dropped 61 to $1.79, and Bear Creek Mining lost 54 to close at $2.96.