Venture gains for third straight week

Vancouver – The S&P TSX Venture Exchange Index rose for the third week in a row during the July 18-22 period, gaining 52.22 points to close at 2,059.60. From a strictly technical perspective, this year’s market downturn appears to have bottomed out around the last week of June, a few weeks earlier than the market correction of 2010, which reached its lowest point during the first two weeks of July. Volume averaged 95.1 million shares traded daily.

Leading the exchange by trading volume and percentage gain was BE Resources, after it released remarkably high-grade rare earth element assays from its Warm Springs beryllium project in New Mexico. The low-profile junior saw its shares soar on Friday to 75¢ from 8.5¢, or up 782% on 31.8 million shares traded. The best drill hole returned 98 feet grading 19.58% TREO, with about 60% of the mineralization comprising light rare earths and 40% comprising the more valuable heavy rare earths.

Newly formed Prophecy Platinum was the trading period’s biggest value gainer, rising $3.10 to close at $5.32. The stock is up from 74¢ on July 14 after Prophecy released a resource estimate for its Wellgreen polymetallic project in the Yukon.  That estimate pegged Wellgreen’s indicated resources at 14.3 million indicated tonnes grading 0.99 gram platinum per tonne, 0.74 gram palladium per tonne and 0.52 gram gold per tonne, plus 0.69% nickel, 0.62% copper and 0.05% cobalt, along with inferred resources of 289 million tonnes grading 1.18 grams platinum, palladium and gold combined, 0.38% nickel, 0.35% copper and 0.03% cobalt.

Vancouver-based Pacific Booker Minerals climbed $1.07 to $8.59 on light volume after advancements at its Morrison copper-gold project in central British Columbia, namely, the company’s application for environmental approval is now open to public review. Pacific Booker first hired environmental consultant Rescan Environmental Services in May 2006 to complete the application, which it finally submitted in September 2009 only to have the file rejected because of “significant deficiencies.” The two parties are now suing each other because Pacific Booker refused to pay for some of Rescan’s services, citing professional negligence and breach of contract. An addendum to the application was eventually filed in May 2010, leading to its acceptance for review two months later.

Finally, Toronto-based junior Atlanta Gold traded heavily this week on its way up to 7.5¢ from 6.5¢. The company has released an updated resource estimate for its Atlanta gold-silver project in the historic Middle Boise mining district of Idaho. Indicated resources rose 54% to 719,000 gold-equivalent oz. contained in 6.82 million tonnes grading 3.45 grams gold per tonne and 9.04 grams silver. Inferred resources now stand at 290,100 gold-equivalent oz. contained in 1.78 million tonnes grading 5.42 grams gold and 8.16 grams silver. The company has also arranged a $2.5 million financing to help pay for its ongoing three-rig, 18,300-metre drill program at the project.