This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Will Purcell

The diamond and specialty minerals stocks box score for Tuesday was a slow but positive 49-36-161. The TSX Venture Exchange gained one point to 691 while polished diamond prices edged upward. Matt Manson's Stornoway Diamond Corp. (SWY) traded briskly, gaining two cents to 75 cents on 2.22 million shares. The stock hit its highest point since last summer, as construction of its Renard diamond mine in Northern Quebec continues on schedule and within its $800-million budget. The mine should reach production later next year. Glenn Kelly's Orbite Aluminae Inc. (ORT) fell one cent to 25 cents on 1.38 million shares. Orbite is far behind its original schedule and way over its initial budget at its high-purity alumina plant on Gaspe peninsula. The work has been going better lately and Orbite is still able to find backers. It sold $15-million in convertible debentures this spring.

John Knowles's Wildcat Exploration Ltd. (WEL), up 3.5 cents to seven cents on 235,000 shares, is joining the Pikoo diamond hunt in Northern Saskatchewan. It is acquiring several properties through deals with two companies. In the first arrangement, Wildcat can acquire 41,500 hectares of ground southeast of the core Pikoo property where North Arrow Minerals Inc. (NAR: $1) discovered several kimberlites over the past two years. It must pay Ryan Kalt's Strike Diamond Corp. (SRK: $0.05) 3.5 million shares. Mr. Kalt, CEO of Strike, says he is pleased to sell a (fringe) part of his company's diamond project, citing Wildcat's "experienced team" that will focus on generating diamond exploration targets on ground adjacent to -- in other words, not on -- Strike's high-priority ground. (Mr. Knowles and his crew do appear to have experience, just not in diamonds.)

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS