TSX Venture posts modest gain Oct. 1-5

VANCOUVER — The S&P TSX Venture Composite gained 10.47 points or 0.78% before closing at 1,344.98 points during the Oct. 1-5 trading sessions, as mixed signals from major global economies continued to limit growth.

A report by Statistics Canada indicating the labour market added 52,000 jobs in September was tempered by the fact the country’s unemployment rate actually climbed from 7.3% to 7.4% during the same period. Though the Bank of Canada has maintained a growth forecast above 2% for the third and fourth quarters, the economy has struggled to sustain momentum with growth figures clocking in at 1.9% during the second quarter.

November contracts for crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.5% week-on-week to US$89.87 per barrel, while gold jumped US$10 per oz. en route to a US$1,781.30 weekly close. December contracts for copper dropped 0.8¢ before closing at US$3.78 per lbs.

Vancouver-based developer Pacific Booker Minerals plunged 80% or $11.95 before closing the week at $3 per share after the B.C. government rejected an application for an environmental assessment (EA) certificate at its wholly-owned Morrison copper-gold project 65 km northeast of Smithers, B.C.

The decision by B.C. Minister of the Environment Terry Lake is only the second instance of the provincial government rejecting an EA certificate for a mining operation — in 2007 Northgate Minerals was turned down after applying for a permit at its Kemess North gold-copper expansion 430 km northwest of Prince George.

Lake cited a series of reasons for rejecting Morrison, which included: a “genetically unique population of sockeye salmon population” in the Skeena River, a long-term decline in Morrison Lake’s water supply, and the “in-perpetuity” nature of the environmental liabilities associated with the project.

Gold explorer Roxgold jumped 14¢ before closing the week at 94¢ per share. Activist investor Oliver Lennox-King emerged victorious during a proxy battle at the end of September, and Roxgold announced a deferred share unit (DSU) plan for its board of directors on Oct. 5. According to company statements the DSU plan is aimed at aligning the interests of the board with shareholders, while “enabling non-executive directors to participate in the long-term success of the company.”

The plan allows non-executive directors to receive a portion of their compensation in DSUs, as well as all or a portion of any cash compensation. Roxgold agreed to grant US$100,000 in DSUs to each non-executive director.

Maritime-based developer Ucore Rare Metals rose 21¢ per share en route to a 60¢ weekly close following successful metallurgical test results from its flagship Bokan Mountain rare earth deposit in southeastern Alaska. Ucore was conducting laboratory experiments with Montana-based IntelliMet to successfully separate critical metals in its mixed concentrate, including: dysprosium, neodymium, and erbium.

Composite solutions were designed to simulate ore contents from Bokan Mountain. According to the company the results are significant as dysprosium and neodymium are listed amongst metals defined as strategic by the U.S. government. Ucore’s process is called solid phase extraction (SPE), and combines “rare-earth extraction from process leach solutions with a separation regime that utilizes innovative polymer nanotechnology.”