TSX Venture Exchange, July 2-5

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index finished in the green for the first time in four weeks during the shortened trading period, with a 2.87-point gain to close at 884.27. An early jump in commodity prices fuelled positive investor sentiment before a strong employment report out of the U.S. later in the week negatively hit gold markets. On the socio-political front unrest appeared to subside momentarily in Egypt, though crude oil prices rose throughout the week.

August contracts for gold carried over momentum from the previous week, and jumped out to a quarterly high of US$1,254.65 per oz. during the week before losing ground and closing down 2.4%, or $29.90, at US$1,221.95 per oz. Copper futures did even worse, with September contracts for the red metal dropping 2.7%, or US8.6¢, en route to a US$3.07 close. Crude oil continues to be a bright spot, as August contracts for West Texas Intermediate rose 5.6%, or US$5.49, before closing the week at US$103.48 per barrel.

Copper-gold explorer Gold Reach Resources is riding momentum from a 2013 drill program targeting its Ox deposit at the company’s Ootsa property, 120 km southwest of the town of Houston, B.C. Gold Reach led the value-added category during the week, with a 37¢ jump en route to a $1.25-per-share close.

Gold Reach’s 2013 drilling at Ox is focused  on infilling and expanding near-surface mineralization on the east side of the deposit, where historic drilling has indicated higher grades. The company released results from the program to end June, with highlights including: 70 metres grading 0.62% copper equivalent from 50 metres depth in hole 13-48; and 33 metres averaging 0.65% copper equivalent from 42 metres depth in hole 13-50.

Graphite junior Zenyatta Ventures had another strong week, with its stock jumping 22¢ during the trading period en route to a $3.17-per-share close. On July 2 the company announced it had cut “significant graphite mineralization” in holes 11 to 15, drilled on the East Pipe of its wholly owned Albany graphite deposit in northern Ontario.

According to Zenyatta, graphite mineralization at the East Pipe appears to be consistent with a higher-grade core of graphitic breccia, which is typically surrounded by a broad halo of graphite-overprinted syenite. Holes 11 through 15 were designed to start outside the limit of Zenyatta’s geophysical anomaly and angled to help define and confirm the overall geometry of the pipe-like body.

Highlights from the company’s East Pipe assays include: 146 metres grading 5.2% graphitic carbon from 95 metres depth in hole 12; 177 metres averaging 5.3% carbon from 138 metres in hole 13; 186 metres of 4.9% carbon from 146 metres in hole 14; and 125 metres of 4.6% carbon from 132 metres in hole 15.

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