5 Top Weekly TSXV Stocks: Montero Gains on Lithium Assay Results

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) closed last Friday (December 1) at 789 points, down just 0.11 points.
The Canadian dollar gained the most in almost three months against the US dollar on Friday after the release of stronger-than-expected Labor Force Survey results.
The jobs data fueled expectations that the Bank of Canada will hike interest rates early in 2018. However, investors expect the Bank of Canada to keep its benchmark interest rate at 1 percent at this week’s policy decision.

Strengthening oil prices also added support for the loonie as oil is one of Canada’s major exports. US crude was up 1.53 percent, at $58.28 a barrel, after OPEC and other major producers agreed to continue curbing output until the end of 2018.
Against that backdrop, a number of TSXV-listed mining stocks experienced significant share price gains last week. The five top gainers are as follows:

• Montero Mining and Exploration (TSXV:MON)
• LiCo Energy Metals (TSXV:LIC)
• Viscount Mining (TSXV:VML)
• King’s Bay Resources (TSXV:KBG)
• Elcora Advanced Materials (TSXV:ERA)

Read on for a brief overview of those companies and what moved their share prices last week.

Montero Mining and Exploration

Last Tuesday (November 28), Montero Mining and Exploration received lithium assay results from reverse-circulation (RC) chips from a prior operator’s drill program at the Soris lithium project in Central Namibia. The news sent the company’s share price up 106.25 percent to close at $0.40.
“Montero has identified significant widths of lithium bearing spodumene mineralization at surface and at depth where prior operators only assayed for tantalum and tin. Recent sampling of RC chips from the prior operator returned 33 metres of 1.07 percent lithium oxide in spodumene pegmatite thereby providing a third dimension which Montero will use to establish a resource. Montero has now submitted all of the intercepts from RC drill holes for analyses. Further results are expected shortly,” said company President and CEO Dr. Tony Harwood.

LiCo Energy Metals

LiCo Energy Metals released drill results from two separate properties last week. It also closed a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $960,000.
On Thursday (November 30), the company reported assay results for the first diamond drill hole completed at its Teledyne cobalt property, located 6 kilometers northeast of Cobalt, Ontario. Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, the firm released assay results for diamond drill holes GB17‐06 and GB17‐07 at its Glencore Bucke property; the project is also 6 kilometers northeast of Cobalt, Ontario.
According to LiCo, the most significant results from Glencore Bucke are as follows:

• Hole GB17‐07: 1.11 percent cobalt and 16.6 ppm silver over 2 meters, including 7.64 percent cobalt and 9.1 ppm silver over 0.26 meters
• Hole GB17‐06: 4.45 percent cobalt and 34.2 ppm silver over 0.3 meters from 44.4 to 44.7 meters
• Hole GB17‐06: 0.25 percent cobalt over 1.75 meters, including 0.58 percent cobalt and 28.9 ppm silver over 0.5 meters

The company, which also has projects in Chile and the US, saw its share price rise 105.56 percent to close at $0.16 last week. 

Viscount Mining

Viscount Mining announced the first assay results from a Phase 2 HQ core drilling program at its Silver Cliff property in Colorado on Tuesday. The firm’s share price rose 65.22 percent to close at $0.38.
“We are very encouraged with the results of our first hole of Phase 2 drilling at Silver Cliff. The results show the twinned hole multiple ounce mineralization to be almost double in length. This was also indicated in some of the 9 twinned holes drilled in 2016 where 5 out of 9 holes had noticeably thicker silver-rich sections, ” said company Chairman Kaare Foy.

King’s Bay Resources

King’s Bay Resources said last Monday (November 27) that it has finished the first phase of a drill program at its Lynx Lake copper-cobalt project in Southeastern Labrador. In total it completed two diamond drill holes totaling 501.9 meters. Its share price rose 44.44 percent over the course of last week to close at $0.13.

Elcora Advanced Materials

Last Wednesday (November 29), Elcora Advanced Materials signed a memorandum of understanding with Lockheed Martin Canada. Elcora offers high-quality graphite anode powder for use in lithium-ion batteries and produces graphite from its mine in Sri Lanka. The company’s share price rose 43.75 percent over the week to close at $0.47.
“We are extremely pleased to announce this newly formed strategic partnership with Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin is a dominant leader in aerospace, defense, energy and advanced technologies with worldwide interests,” said Troy Grant, CEO of Elcora. “Through this ongoing arrangement, Elcora will complement Lockheed Martin’s global initiatives. We are grateful for this opportunity.”
Data for 5 Top Weekly TSXV Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday at 10:30 a.m. PST using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $10 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the mining and precious metals sectors are considered.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Shaw, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: LiCo Energy Metals is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.