For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange lost 0.58%, while the TSX Gold Index gave back 1.6% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, fell 0.44% with the declining issuers swamping the advancers by a 562 to 466 margin on volume of nearly 218 million shares traded.

Silver Wheaton stepped up to the plate and has agreed to buy 50% of the life of mine silver at Aurcana’s 80% owned La Negra mine in Mexico. The price tag is an upfront cash payment of $25 million. Aurcana ended the day up C$0.06 at C$0.64.

It was a good session for shareholders of X-Terra Resources as the junior applied for shale licenses in Quebec. The junior received a letter from the Ministry of Natural Resources to confirm the application permits for over 120,000 hectares. X-Terra ended the day up C$0.73 at C$2.21.

Shares of Buchans River added C$0.04 to close at C$0.225 after the company announced a drill intercept of 6.64% zinc, 3.01% lead, 0.65% copper, 15.06 grams silver and 0.11 grams gold per tonne on the Lundberg zone in Newfoundland.

Radius Gold has inked a deal with Kappes, Cassiday & Associates to develop the high-grade Tambor gold deposit in Guatemala. The agreement envisions an initial 150 tonne per day operation from both underground and surface pits. Kappes can earn a 51% interest in the project by spending $6.5 million over four years or by putting the project into production. Radius ended the day up C$0.05 at C$0.32.

Newmont Mining put itself on the brink of bidding for Gabriel Resources after buying an additional 1.5% equity stake in the company on the open market. That gives Newmont 19.9%, just a tad less than the 20% threshold that would trigger a mandatory offer. Gabriel ended the day down C$0.04 at C$2.86.

Gold took one on the chin as it made a run at the $900 per ounce mark but failed to break through. We will see what Wednesday trading has in store.
Source: Resource Stock Roundup Wednesday, June 4, 2008