Gold and Silver Snips

Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report for Monday, September 21, 2009

TORONTO (SHfn) – Precious metals assays seemed to whet the appetites of some speculators Monday, while diamonds were a shareholder’s best friend.

Richfield Ventures (TSX: V.RVC, Stock Forum) shares climbed 57% to $1.18 on Monday after the micro cap explorer announced assay results for three further diamond drill holes of its 15 hole fall program on the Blackwater project in British Columbia, which included 207 metres of 1.06 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and five g/t silver.

As well, shares of Peregrine Diamonds (TSX: T.PGD, Stock Forum) shot up 108% to $1.85 as the junior miner reported the discovery of large diamonds and a coarse diamond size distribution in representative drill core samples collected from the CH-6 kimberlite located on the 9,800 square kilometre Chidliak project on Baffin Island, Nunavut. A 398.8 kilogram sample collected from CH-6 yielded 2,730 diamonds larger than the 0.075 mm sieve size, including 131 diamonds larger than the 0.600 mm sieve size. The largest diamond recovered from the sample was a 0.62 carat white, transparent aggregate.

Running Fox Resource (TSX: V.RUN, Stock Forum), meanwhile, said it has entered into an exclusive arrangement that would enable it, following successful asset review, to acquire an operating Canadian diamond drilling company. The private company is technically advanced and operates one to three drill systems depending on the size of a drilling contract, with current capabilities down to 6,000 feet, including in very rough terrain. Running Fox stock popped 58% to 28.5 cents.

Shares of Æterna Zentaris (TSX: T.AEZ, Stock Forum) jumped 11% to $1.45 after the biopharmaceutical firm focused on endocrine therapy and oncology announced the completion of a Phase 1 study of its orally-active tubulin and topoisomerase II inhibitor compound, AEZS-112, in patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphoma.

Sparton Resources (TSX: V.SRI, Stock Forum) shares surged 50% to 15 cents after the junior explorer/developer reported that effective September 9, 2009, its wholly-owned China subsidiary company Yunnan Blue Bay Mining Co. has completed the acquisition of a 51% share interest in 306 Huajun Coal Co. Ltd., the company producing germanium concentrates and thermal coal in the Lincang area of Yunnan Province, China. Recent analyses indicate that Huajun concentrates contain up to 0.17% tungsten (potentially commercial amounts) and 0.012% yttrium.

And, Mexivada Mining (TSX: V.MNV, Stock Forum) Monday said it has discovered a diatreme volcanic pipe intrusive body located near (39 g/t) gold-quartz float mineralization sampled at the surface on its wholly-owned Goldstorm property in Nevada. Dioritic rocks in this young diatreme pipe body look similar to rocks at the Goldstrike mine of Barrick. Its shares powered 110% higher to 21 cents.