TSX Venture rises, April 13-17: Abitibi Royalties, Adventus Mining, Falcon Gold

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index rose 1.76% to finish the trading week at 444.87. Spot gold finished at US$1,686.50 per oz., a gain of 0.05%, and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index climbed 6.11% to 306.28.

Shares of Abitibi Royalties rose by $1.71 to $18.21 per share after Quebec added mining operations to the list of essential services permitted to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s flagship royalty is a 3% net smelter return royalty on the eastern portion of the Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec, jointly owned by Agnico Eagle Mines and Yamana Gold. Mining resumed at Canadian Malartic on April 15. The mine was placed on care and maintenance on March 24. The resumption of mining will occur over a period of several weeks; exploration is expected to remain suspended until May 4. Abitibi Royalties holds a number of other royalties on projects in Quebec, including a 1.5% NSR on the Midway project.

Adventus Mining’s shares fell 6¢ to 58¢ after the Irish government formally approved an earn-in agreement and funding arrangement with South32 Base Metals, a subsidiary of South32, on the junior’s 100% owned Rathkeale, Kingscourt and Fermoy projects in Ireland’s Limerick Basin. The projects cover a 1,155 sq. km area that is prospective for zinc-lead-silver mineralization. The earn-in agreements grant South32 the right to acquire a 70% stake in the projects by funding exploration on the projects over a four-year period. Historic drilling at Rathkeale has intersected alteration as well as mineralization, including 6 metres grading 3.6% zinc and 6 metres of 5.7% lead, 2.8% zinc, and 0.7% copper. The block lies immediately west of Glencore’s Tobermalug deposit.

Shares of Falcon Gold rose by 2¢ to 6¢ per share. The junior announced the acquisition of the Spitfire and Sunny Boy claims in south-central B.C., 16 km east of Merritt. The claims total 5 sq. km, and can be accessed by a paved highway and ranch and logging roads. To earn its 100% interest, the company has agreed to issue 2.5 million common shares and 2.5 million warrants at a conversion price of 10¢ with a two-year term and a one-time cash payment of $25,000 in six months. The vendor retains a 2% net smelter return royalty. Most of the early exploration on the claims focused on quartz veins hosting gold, copper and silver, Falcon says. High-grade values from underground workings on the claims reported by the Quilchena Mining company, include 124 grams gold per tonne and 309 grams silver per tonne, Falcon says. The junior’s flagship property is the Central Canada gold project, 20 km southeast of Agnico Eagle’s Hammond Reef gold deposit. Falcon also has a 49% stake in the Burton gold property in Sudbury with Iamgold.