TSX Venture slips slightly during Feb. 7-11

The S&P-TSX Venture composite index fell 12.73 points or 0.54% to close at 2,357.56. Volume during the Feb. 7-11 week averaged 205 million shares traded. One hundred and forty-five companies reached new 52-week highs, while thirty-six slipped to new 52-week lows.

Montreal-based Geomega Resources soared 110.6% or $1.46 to $2.78 per share on assays from one drill hole at its Montviel rare earths property in Quebec. The hole assayed 1.24% total rare earth oxides (TREO) over its entire 480 metres core length, from 21 to 501 metres, and included a high-grade section of 2.03% TREO over 39.4 metres from 266.6 to 306 metres. The results came from the first phase of drilling. The property is underlain by the Montviel carbonatite complex, which extends over an area of 32 sq km making it one of North America’s largest carbonatites.

Focus Metals surged 100% or 71¢ to $1.42 following a presentation by chief executive Gary Economo at the Critical Metals Conference in New York, where he discussed the importance of the company’s “critical technology” flake graphite and rare earths properties in Quebec. He described Focus Metals’ 100%-owned Lac Knife graphite deposit, which it acquired in mid-2010, as one of the richest pure graphite sources in the world and noted that large flake graphite is used in the production of lithium ion batteries. Graphite is also used in high-tech electronics such as iPads to remove the heat from sensitive components. On the rare earths side, the junior is partnered with Soquem, the operating and exploration arm of the Quebec government, at its Kwyjibo rare earth, copper and iron ore property.

Yellowhead Mining jumped 48¢ to $1.88 on no news. The company has a 100% stake in the Harper Creek copper-gold-silver advanced exploration project in south-central British Columbia, about 150 km from Kamloops. The company describes Harper Creek on its website as “one of the largest copper pre-development projects in Canada.”

Andina Minerals rose 42¢ to $1.90 after the company announced on Feb. 9 that it would be releasing a much-anticipated prefeasibility study on its 100%-owned Volcan project on Feb. 14.  The Volcan gold project is in Chile’s Atacama region about 120 km east of Copiapo in the prolific Maricunga gold belt. As of Jan. 31 initial proven and probable reserves for the Dorado deposits at the Volcan project reached 283 million tonnes grading 0.726 gram gold per tonne for about 6.6 million ounces of contained gold.

Finally, Loncor Resources climbed 40¢ to $2.90 per share on no news. On Feb. 1 the junior announced that it had closed two financings raising a total of $23.97 million. Of that, $3.99 million was a non-brokered private placement to Newmont Mining of 1.7 million shares I the company at $2.35 per share. Loncor plans to use the funds to explore its Ngayu and North Kivu gold projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.