Venture down in June 11-15 period

VANCOUVER — The S&P TSX Venture Composite Index dropped 41.91 points after four days of losses outweighed one day of gains in the June 11-15 period, ending at 1,251.02 points. Volume was also down for most of the period, but a spike at the end of the week left the average volume fairly consistent with recent weeks at 73 million shares traded daily.

Amerix Precious Metals shot up from 8¢ to 20¢ with 11 million shares traded after announcing a new gold discovery in Brazil. The discovery holes from the company’s Limao property in Para state returned 12.7 metres grading 14.04 grams gold per tonne from 28 metres downhole and 40.4 metres averaging 3.51 grams gold from 37 metres downhole. The two holes were drilled from the same platform, with the first drilled at a -60 degree angle and the second at -77 degrees. The mineralization occurs in potassic-altered and pyrite-rich syenite intrusive rocks. The company has already drilled holes above and below holes 1 and 2 to test the vertical continuity of the mineralization.

Aldridge Minerals was up after releasing an updated resource estimate on its Yenipazar polymetallic deposit in Turkey, climbing 17¢ to end at 64¢ on a little over a million shares traded. The deposit, combining sulphides and oxides, now contains 26.7 million tonnes grading 1.04 grams gold, 31.3 grams silver, 0.3% copper, 1.04% lead, and 1.40% zinc for a 3.05 grams gold equivalent, with oxides comprising about 3 million tonnes. Inferred resources add about 1.2 million tonnes at a 2.51 gram gold equivalent. The company also outlined improved metallurgical recoveries from the VMS deposit.  

Gold Reach Resources shot up to a 52-week high, climbing 28¢ to $1.10 after announcing it had finished drilling two deep holes at the West Seel discovery at its Ootsa project in British Columbia. Hole 101 was drilled to 1,079 metres and hole 102 to 951 metres, both stepping out from the original discovery holes released in December including 566.7 metres grading 0.51% copper equivalent from 170 metres downhole. The Ootsa property sits adjacent to the Huckleberry mine in west-central B.C. On the Monday after the period the company climbed a further 55¢ to $1.65 after announcing a $1.2 million financing.

Gold Reserve was up $1.06 to $4.34 on a total of 57,000 shares traded in the period after outlining changes to a note restructuring. The company has been working to restructure its outstanding 5.5% senior convertible notes and reached an agreement with three entities holding 87.8% of the notes in mid-May. The company had offered remaining holders a cash buy-out, but then rescinded that offer, planning to release a new offer in the coming days. Gold Reserve continues to wait on a judgement for its $2.1 billion lawsuit against Venezuela for seizing its assets in 2008.

Aurcana saw a large spike in volume on the last day of the period with 28 million shares traded, making for roughly 48 million shares traded in total for the period. The company announced that S&P and Market Vectors had added Aurcana to the GDXJ Index, that it had granted 6.3 million options, and that its shares are now trading in the United States on the OTCQX.