Canadian markets performed over the past week

Poor job numbers out of the United States prompted a sell-off in equities on Friday but for the most part it was a good week for the resource-related companies. Once all the trading was done, the TSX Ventures Exchange, home to more junior exploration companies than anywhere else in the world, had added 4.23 per cent, while the TSX Gold Index had tacked on 2.64 per cent.

Let’s start off with the exploration news out of the Yukon.

Well, the 2011 field season in Canada’s Yukon is starting out on a solid footing and delivering favourable drill results on multiple fronts. Atac Resources led the charge by tabling results from work on the Conrad zone within the Nadaleen Trend in central Yukon. In 2010 the company drilled a discovery hole which hit 21.13 metres grading 8.03 grams gold per tonne. The first 2011 hole was drilled 100 metres east of this and hit 114.93 metres of 3.15 grams gold per tonne. Atac ended the week at C$8.70 for a C$1.40 gain.

And good news for Atac also means good news for Strategic Metals, which at last count held nearly 10 million Atac shares. The Yukon project generator closed up C$0.45 at C$3.60.

Positive stuff! Anyone else delivering good news in the Yukon?

Yup. Golden Predator released results from the final five holes from its winter 2011 drill program at the Carlos zone on the Grew Creek project. Highlights included 92 metres running 2.02 grams gold per tonne and 104.2 metres of 1.68 grams gold per tonne. Golden Predator closed out the week up C$0.03 at C$0.99.

And shares of another Yukon market darling performed well on no new results. Kaminak Gold added C$0.43 to close at C$4.18 as investors buy ahead of more drill results from its Coffee project.

So, what’s happening among the producers?

Shares of Sandstorm Gold added C$0.16 to close at C$1.35 in the wake of good operational news from Luna Gold’s Aurizona mine in Brazil. Sandstorm has an agreement to purchase 17 per cent of the life-of-mine gold production from Aurizona.

Elsewhere, Avion Gold announced production results from its Tabakoto/Segala operations in Mali. The company produced 25,823 ounces during the second quarter, putting it on track for 100,000 ounces in 2011. Avion ended the week up C$0.24 at C$2.18.

Also in production news, Kirkland Lake Gold tabled quarterly production of 24,566 ounces of gold and record yearly production of 81,860 ounces of gold from its operation in Ontario. Operating costs have dropped to US$759 per ounce from US$1,045 per ounce a year earlier. Kirkland ended the week up C$1.50 at C$16.70.

Meanwhile, First Quantum Minerals said it produced of 64,500 tonnes of copper and 40,700 ounces of gold during the second quarter. This was lower than expected. First Quantum ended the week down C$4.42 at C$136.20.

Capstone Mining produced 21.2 million pounds of copper in concentrates in the second quarter from its Cozamin operation in Mexico and from its Minto mine in Yukon. Capstone ended the week up C$0.08 at C$3.67.

Back with exploration, but staying with copper, Duluth Metals continued to table the goodies from its Twin Metals Nokomis deposit in Minnesota. Highlights included 185 feet of 1.92% copper equivalent. Duluth ended the week up C$0.16 at C$2.54.

It was a good week for shareholders of European Goldfields. The company will now get its Greek mining permit this month after a very long wait. The environmental impact studies for the Olympias polymetallic and Skouries gold-copper projects on Greece’s Halkidiki peninsula have been on the table for several years. European Goldfields closed up C$3.55 at C$13.65.

China raised interest rates, the jobless rate in the United States climbed to 9.2 per cent and a report circulated that underwater rare earth deposits have been discovered by Japanese scientists. A mixed bag of news if there was one. For speculative investors all eyes are on drill results and nothing else. We will see what next week has in store.

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