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by Will Purcell

The diamond and specialty minerals stocks box score for Thursday was a positive 58-52-155, a rarity since early September. The TSX Venture Exchange reclaimed 13 points to 791 while diamond prices were flat. Rodney Irwin's Stans Energy Inc. (HRE) gained one-half cent to 16.5 cents on 130,000 shares. Mr. Irwin has persuaded a Canadian court to grant an injunction preventing the Kyrgyzstani government from selling 47 million shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (CG: $5.94). The move is Mr. Irwin's latest attempt to enforce a $118-million award granted Stans as compensation for the Kyrgyzstani bureaucrats making it impossible for the company to advance its Kutessay II rare earth play.

Ken MacNeill and George Read's Saskatchewan diamond promotion,Shore Gold Inc. (SGF), lost one cent to 19.5 cents on 203,000 shares. Shore's stock, which has traded at an average of 27 cents this year, could be headed for another bout of tax-loss selling later this fall unless the company shows progress on financing and construction of its $2-billion Star-Orion South mine in central Saskatchewan. The company thinks rapidly rising diamond prices will make its mammoth project attractive to investors. Unfortunately, polished prices are off about 5 per cent since summer, as jewellery manufacturers and traders struggle with an illiquid capital market nearly as bad as in the late 2000s. Rough prices are off as well: De Beers wrapped up its October sight recently with average prices that were between 2 per cent and 4 per cent lower. As well, the total value, $460-million (U.S.) was less than previous sights.

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