STOCK MARKETS — Commonwealth remains active outlining

Western markets drifted lower over the week ended Sept. 22, with the Vancouver Stock Exchange composite index shedding almost 11 points to finish at 562.82 while the resource index slipped 11.9 points to close at the 559 level.

The Alberta Stock Exchange composite index lost 9.6 points to settle at 883.04.

Gold’s performance remained disappointing given the chaos experienced in world money markets of late. Although bullion did manage to break above the US$351 level before falling back, some analysts complain that it is beginning to behave more and more like an industrial metal.

Commonwealth Gold topped the most active list for the third week in a row, trading over 3.9 million shares before finishing the week up 3 cents at 63 cents. The company recently announced that at least 30 prospective diamond targets have been outlined on various joint venture properties owned by Commonwealth, Aber Resources and SouthernEra Resources in the Lac de Gras area of the Northwest Territories.

The companies report that follow-up till sampling returned a number of kimberlitic indicator minerals in some of the targets’ vicinity. Casino Silver Mines continued to gain ground, adding 23 cents to close at $1.32 for a net gain of over 50 cents in the past few weeks. The market action stems from interest in the company’s Casino copper-gold property in the Yukon.

Merger candidates Big Creek Resources and Pacific Sentinel Gold have the right to either earn a 50% interest in the property by spending $7.5 million by the end of 1998, or purchase the property for $15 million in cash after spending $3.5 million before the end of 1994. If the companies purchase the property, Casino would retain a 10% net profits interest.

Both Big Creek and Pacific Sentinel, which plan to merge on a 1-for-1 basis, drifted lower. Big Creek finished down 14 cents at $2.41 while Pacific Sentinel slipped 25 cents to $2.50.

Azco Mining did well, adding 50 cents to close at $2.90. The company is actively developing two large copper-oxide deposits, one in Arizona and the other in Mexico, for the production of cathode copper using solvent extraction and electrowinning technology. The company is searching for joint venture partners for a second copper-oxide property in Mexico called the Suaqui Verde.

After touching a new high of 64 cents, Kalahari Resources edged down 3 cents to close at 54 cents. The company recently announced it had increased its land position in the Northwest Territories to over one million acres. Hemisphere Development recently completed testing of a 1,100-ton sample from the Leopold Downs diamond property in Western Australia. The sample was treated in a heavy mineral separation unit, producing just over one ton of concentrate which will be visually inspected for diamond content. Hemisphere, which has an option to acquire an 80% interest in the property, finished the period down 13 cents at 55 cents.

Marine diamond explorer Canadian Overseas Exploration gained ground, adding 14 cents to close at 81 cents. The company is exploring for off-shore marine diamonds in Namibia under a 50% joint venture with Benguela Concessions. Prime Resources Group recently announced it accepted 130,000 preferred shares of International Corona plus $400,000 in cash as payment from Euro-Nevada for a 1% net smelter royalty in the company’s 50% owned Eskay Creek property in northwestern British Columbia. Prime closed up a nickel at $2.60. St. Philips Resources remains volatile, slipping 30 cents to close at a year’s low of $1. The company holds a 40% interest in the South Kemess copper-gold property in north-central British Columbia while El Condor Resources holds the balance. El Condor lost 20 cents to close at $3.60.