The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index climbed 2.44% to finish the trading week at 896.71. Spot gold fell US$48 per oz., or 2.53%, to US$1,850 per ounce.
Nouveau Monde Graphite jumped 77 ? to $1.80 per share. The company said it expects in the first quarter of this year to obtain authorisation from the provincial government to build commercial facilities at Saint-Michel-des-Saints for its Matawinie graphite project in Quebec, 150 km north of Montreal. The authorisation would enable the company to complete construction and commissioning of the first phase of its proprietary purification facility in Becancour for mid-2021. Nouveau Monde aims to provide advanced carbon-neutral graphite-based materials for the growing lithium-ion and fuel cell markets. The company said it plans to advance its mining and battery projects this year, with commercial activities slated to start in 2023.
Shares of Palladium One increased by 9 ? to 33.5 ? per share. The company announced the discovery of massive magmatic sulphides at its Tyko property in Ontario, 25 km north of the Hemlo mining complex. The discovery followed the first two drill holes of its 2020 drill program, with drillhole TK-20-016 intersecting 3.8 metres grading 6.65% nickel, 3.7% copper, 0.09% cobalt (8.74% nickel equivalent), 0.67 gram palladium per tonne, 0.81 gram platinum per tonne, and 0.03 gram gold per tonne starting from 29 metres downhole; and hole TK-20-015 returning 2.3 metres grading 3.9% nickel, 1.41% copper, 0.05% cobalt (4.78% nickel equivalent), 0.48 gram palladium, 0.35 gram platinum, and 0.01 gram gold from 30 metres. The drill program consisted of 14 holes totalling 1,123 metres, with 13 holes drilled into the Smoke Lake electromagnetic anomaly.
Viscount Mining rose 3.5 ? to 43 ? per share. The junior signed an exploration earn-in agreement on its Cherry property in northeastern Nevada with a subsidiary of Centerra Gold. The property, 177 km southwest of Salt Lake City, consists of 320 claims covering 2,658 hectares and contains more than 20 past-producing mines, according to Viscount. Under the agreement, Centerra has the right to acquire a 70% interest in the property by making annual payments totalling $250,000 over a four-year period and spending $8 million on exploration over the same time frame.
Shares of Fabled Silver Gold climbed 0.5 ? to 10.5 ? per share. The company announced that it had completed its first follow-up ground sampling program to evaluate the Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical anomalies identified on its Santa Maria property in Mexico, 39 km south of Parral. Of particular interest, Fabled said, are two areas to the west and outside the current resource area, which comprises the Main vein and Dos vein. A total of 11 priority IP targets have been delineated across the property. The company has collected 26 surface samples from all anomalies and nearby areas.