COATS (over-the-counter) Gold shares gain

Junior gold issues took on a little sparkle during the week ended Jan. 9 with several stocks making modest gains after a period of dull performance.

Carolin Mines, which is exploring the old Ladner Creek gold property in British Columbia, was active in the 60-83 cents range. Carolin shares posted a gain of 17 cents with the close at 75 cents after 31 transactions. Previous attempts to mine the low- grade Ladner Creek deposit have ended in disappointment.

There were 26 trades involving 150,500 shares of Black Gregor Exploration with the issue closing up 10 cents at 54 cents by the end of this week. The company completed a drill program on its Marathon, Ont. gold property last month, but final assay results are still being compiled and have not been released yet. One hole in the recent program yielded 7 ft. grading 0.20 oz. gold per ton, but most of the previously reported intersections were uneconomic.

After shuffling its board of directors last month, Wye Resources was steady with 20 cents bid and an ask price of 30 cents . The company says it has a small open pit gold deposit on its 60% owned Saganaw property near Thunder Bay, Ont.

Costigan Gold gained 15 cents to close at 70 cents on a volume of 7,000 shares, while First Canadian Gold added 10 cents to its share price of 70 cents on a volume of 35,000. There were eight transactions in the First Canadian stock. This company is controlled by geologist Jim Gill, who is better known for his role as president of TSE-listed Aur Resources.