Venture mixed but bulls overwhelm bears over Dec 13-17

Vancouver – The S&P-TSX Venture Composite Index endured a rocky ride over Dec. 13-17, with gains cancelling out losses to leave the board up 10.03 points, at 2,134.33. Daily trading volumes remained strong, averaging 169 million.

Comparing the number of juniors reaching new 52-week share price highs versus those falling to new lows, however, painted a much clearer picture of how Venture companies fared over the third week of December: 120 companies climbed to new highs while only 47 fell to new lows.

Eagle Hill Exploration had a good week after releasing the first set of results from its 10,000-metre drill program at the Windfall Lake project near Val d’Or, Quebec. Three holes into the Caribou zone all hit gold at less than 80 metres below surface, returning 9.9 metres of 18.8 grams gold per tonne, 1 metres of 7.38 grams gold, and 4.6 metres of 53.6 grams gold. The company moved 26 million shares to climb 7¢ to 25¢.

Avion Gold‘s share price continued its six-month ascent, this time supported by drill results from its producing Tabakoto project. A mix of infill and step out holes returned such intercepts as 11.4 metres grading 56.08 grams gold, 5.6 metres of 18.56 grams gold, 3.7 metres of 34.52 grams gold, and 7.4 metres of 13.57 grams gold. In response Avion’s share price gained 10¢ to reach $1.50. Tabakoto produced 7,827 oz. gold in November, keeping the mine on target to produce 85,000 oz. gold in 2010.

The biggest absolute gain of the week went to Mirasol Resources, which announced results from the first seven holes into its new Julia vein target. Julia, which is one of eight veins discovered in at the Virginia project in the last 12 months, returned silver in all seven holes, including 474 grams silver over 22.7 metres. Mirasol’s share price rose $1.86 or 43$ to close at $6.19.

A high-grade nickel-copper hit from the Nachingwea project in Tanzania pushed Continental Nickel up 75¢ or 150%, to $1.25. The company’s second round of drilling at Sleeping Giant zone produced a 9.3-metre intercept grading 5.01% nickel and 0.77% copper, within 23 metres averaging 2.58% nickel and 0.41% copper. The hit started 325 metres downhole.

Rainy River Resources had a busy week: the company released initial results from its TPK project, which is a joint venture with Northern Superior Resources, and announced plans to raise $65 million in a bought-deal private placement. The TPK project, in northern Ontario, returned 13.5 metres grading 25.9 grams gold from a shear zone 150 metres downhole. The partners just completed their first drill program at TPK.  

And two announcements – a new soil anomaly and a high-grade outcrop sample – were enough to add 48¢ to Amarillo Gold‘s share price, bringing it to $1.63. At the Lavros do Sul project in southern Brazil a soil sampling program outlined a large, crescent-shaped soil anomaly near an area of historic artisanal mining known as Matilde. Some 7 km to the east the best sample taken from the Cerro Rico, or Rich Mountain, prospect returned 15.6 grams gold.